Čierne diery: Stories of architectural heritage rescue - prezentace ve VI PER

Black Holes have become a phenomenon in Slovakia in the field of the popularization and preservation of architectural monuments. Since 2014, they have focused on buildings that have long been overlooked – from former factories to derelict spas and icons of the modern movement. They depict historical architecture in graphic works that have become collectible items and part of the collection of the Slovak National Gallery. Research and travel reports are compiled into books in the collection of the Slovak Museum of Design. Thousands of collectors allow Black Holes to operate independently and engage financially in the field of culture and social work. They restore monuments themselves or contribute to other organizations. They rented a dilapidated part of the Castle of the Coburgs in Jelšava to create experiential accommodations in collaboration with architects in 2021, which was awarded the CEZAAR prize. In the historical part of the Betliar municipality, they created a community of good neighbors to buy the majority of apartments in the former housing block of the ironworks and established affordable rental housing in collaboration with architects. They also purchased, for example, a former mining house in the village of Smolnícka Huta, which they are renovating according to the project of the Kilo/Honč studio.
The collective of Black Holes introduces one of the founders of the association, Martin Lipták.
Martin Lipták's lecture is part of the lecture cycle House Europe, where we aim to present the directions and efforts of the European civic initiative HouseEurope!
HouseEurope! is an initiative that brings together citizens, institutions, and groups of residents in Europe and seeks a way to reasonably and positively favor and prioritize renovations over demolitions in today's construction. The goal of the initiative is to prepare effective EU legal regulations that would facilitate the renovation and transformation of existing buildings, supporting their affordability both in terms of price and social impact. Many architectural studios, public and private institutions (including the Czech Chamber of Architects), and thousands of citizens have already joined the initiative. In the lecture cycle, we would like to bring possible strategies, tools, and topics related to renovations and reconstructions in a local context to the local audience, focusing on a selection of six Czech and Slovak speakers.
The project was created with the financial support of the State Fund for Culture of the Czech Republic and the Foundation of Czech Architecture.