The persisting “rigidity of Czech architecture”, which claims to be universally and statically moral, is a legacy of contemporary times, when architecture is seen as a set of generally applicable rules. Good architecture is morally autonomous, on its own, without any links to the surrounding cultural context and practices. Good architecture should be austere. The exhibition is a curatorial selection of six research projects by young architects. It is a probe into the subconscious of the emerging generation that wants to be current, but realises that it can never be modern again. The projects document that the loss of moral superiority linked to a modern project does not have to lead to demoralisation, and the relativisation of one’s own position does not have to lead to chaos. The knowledge that we have lost the vanishing point of our common direction and that saving humanity through a modern project is not going to happen does not have to be a moment of despair, but rather a moment of relief and a review of our own position. Architecture cannot be defined by a set of generally applicable dogmas seemingly guaranteeing its autonomy; nor can architecture be relativised as a mere subject of social discourse. It is possible to treat both at the same time, here and now, even if it causes the dizziness of a drunkard’s blurred vision.
1) Imitation does not have to be a lie.
2) Beauty is just as important as monsters.
3) Excitement is just as important as everyday mediocrity.
4) Architecture can be humane, but it is always violent as well.
5) Devastating criticism is useless if we give up the right to act.
6) Claiming the right to act is useless without never-ending criticism.
7) The material nature of things is just as important as the fluid cultural context in which we
live.
8) Culture is everything… But only if it involves material reality and political networks.
9) Giving up the vision of a future earthly paradise means taking responsibility for the current
state of the world.
