SuperMost: CONFERENCE

The international conference is organized in cooperation between the City of Most and CCEA MOBA as part of the SuperMost project, which focuses on the comprehensive revitalization of the city center.

Admission is free for the public, thanks to the support of the City of Most.
You can register until 31.10.2025 via this form

The event explores the exceptional urban, architectural, and social phenomenon of New Most — a city built in the second half of the 20th century as a replacement for the original town demolished due to coal mining. An interdisciplinary program offers a platform for dialogue among experts in art and architectural history, urbanism, sociology, and environmental sciences, along with representatives of public administration and the general public.
The goal is to critically reflect on the legacy of radical transformation while formulating new approaches and opportunities for Most in light of the climatic, social, and cultural challenges of the 21st century.
In addition to invited Czech and international experts, the conference will feature members of professional juries from ongoing SuperMost competition dialogues: SuperPrior – New Use of the Department Store; SuperRadnice – Artistic Intervention in the City Hall; SuperCentrum – Revitalization of the City Center.

Thematic Sections:
Postwar Gesamtkunstwerk and the New Use of Modernist Architecture
Public Space of the Second Half of the 20th Century Today
Pathways to Urban Transformation
Quality Housing – The Key to an Attractive City

Program
Curated by: Yvette Vašourková, Markéta Žáčková

Introduction
10:00–10:15 
Igor Kovačević (CCEA MOBA)
Marek Hrvol (Mayor of Most)
Jana Falterová Zudová (Most City Councilor)

Opening Keynote
10:20 –10:40
Matěj Spurný (Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences / Faculty of Arts, Charles University)

Block I: Postwar Gesamtkunstwerk and the New Use of Modernist Buildings
10:40–11:50
Moderator: Markéta Žáčková (CCEA MOBA; Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology)
Ladislav Jackson (Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology; University of South Bohemia)
Martin Trávníček (architect)
Martin Krsek (Senator, District 31 – Ústí nad Labem; Regional Museum in Ústí nad Labem)
Initiatives in Action – Local project presentations
Discussion
Modernist architecture as a catalyst of social and cultural change – limits and opportunities for new programs and functions.

12:00–13:30 – lunch
Guided Tour of the City Center with Tomáš Pavlíček (Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Ústí nad Labem)

Block II: Public Space of the Second Half of the 20th Century Today
13:30 –14:20
Moderator: Yvette Vašourková (CCEA MOBA)
Ondřej Beneš (Faculty of Architecture, Czech Technical University)
Joke Vande Maele (Kollektif Landscape, BE)
Areti Markopoulou (IAAC Advanced Architecture Barcelona, ESP)
Initiatives in Action – Local project presentations
Discussion
Contemporary approaches to the renewal of modernist public spaces and their redefinition.

14:20–14:50 – coffee break

Block III: Pathways to Urban Transformation
14:50–16:00
Moderator: Jan Harciník (City of Most, Architecture and Urbanism Commission)
Eva Němcová (Regional Development Agency of the Ústí Region)
Gilles Delalex (Muoto – studio d’architecture, Paris, FRA)
Winy Maas (MVRDV, NL)
Initiatives in Action – Local project presentations
Discussion
Global inspiration, local needs

16:00–16:30 – coffee break
Presentation of the exhibition 'The Image of the Basin' by Eva Němcová, prepared by the Regional Development Agency of the Ústí Region.

Block IV: Quality Housing – The Key to an Attractive City
16:30–17:40
Moderator: Vojtěch Kubát (Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic)
Alexander Raznikow (RIA unit, MMR)
Martino Tattara (Dogma, BE)
Anna Králová – David Knížek (Architects Without Borders)
Initiatives in Action – Local project presentations
Discussion
The quality of housing as a key pillar of urban development

Closing Keynote
17:40–18:00
Lieven De Cauter (Philosopher, writer and activist, BE)

Final Discussion and Summary
18:30–19:00