Architecture through the Eyes of Students

Do you think that nothing can surprise you on your way home from work anymore? If you use public transportation, a small surprise might just come your way. Currently, a tram in Brno is carrying an exhibition with it. In the traditionally designated advertising spaces, we can now view almost a hundred photographs of architecturally interesting buildings from around the world.

The idea to organize a photo exhibition was born in the mind of Jiří Vojtěšek, a student at the Faculty of Architecture in Brno. He was inspired by the exhibition of Sebastião Salgado that took place last year. Just like him, many students from this faculty take photographs during their travels and study stays abroad. And because they are architecture students, they photograph buildings, streets, bridges, airports – simply whatever fascinates them. Jiří Vojtěšek reached out to several of his classmates, and together they selected the most captivating photos from around eight hundred submissions. The Faculty of Architecture then contributed to the students by providing quality printing of the photographs as well as financial support that allowed the project to be realized. The company XELLA Porobeton CZ, the manufacturer of the YTONG building material, also lent a helping hand. This company, which traditionally supports significant projects in the field of architecture, embraced the idea enthusiastically and offered assistance with organizing and publicizing the entire event. Thus, they continued their previous successful collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture in the field of student competitions. Last but not least, the Transport Company of the City of Brno contributed by providing the exhibition space – two tram cars. The opening took place on May 31 at the transit track in front of the Brno Exhibition Centre. With excellent musical accompaniment, the tram completed a tour of the city. Since then, the cars have been incorporated into regular service, where they will remain for three weeks.

The World Around Us

The aim of the whole event is to enhance the experience of traveling by public transportation and also to draw attention to the buildings that are emerging around us, focusing on the world of architecture that surrounds us and providing a small lesson that architecture is constantly evolving, even if we may not yet perceive it sufficiently. After all, it shapes our environment and influences our lifestyle and emotions. I think it is very interesting to discover how our neighbors and people in distant and exotic corners of the world live. Perhaps after riding this tram, we will begin to perceive our surroundings a bit differently. Maybe we will start comparing the images in the photographs with the scenes we see right under them from the windows of the car. After all, we all inadvertently become investors in a number of public buildings.

Here we can view photographs of both well-known and lesser-known landmarks, such as the chapel in Ronchamp, the Berlin Reichstag, and even the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. They are not just mere documentary photographs. They capture something more – an impression, a feeling. The exhibition's author says: “The exhibition aims to present contemporary buildings to people who do not even visit regular galleries and lack the opportunity to become acquainted with current architectural work. We want to reach out to them, showcase the charm of glass facades, raw masonry, modern materials, and organic shapes, thereby removing the stigma of glassy uniform boxes from the term modern architecture.”
Thus, we can only wish all targeted and random visitors enough balance while navigating the exhibition space. And we wish the exhibition's authors further strength in developing this wonderful idea and much success in creating their own designs, perhaps using YTONG material from the exhibition partner – XELLA Porobeton CZ.

Exhibiting students: Jiří Kolomazník, Pavel Barták, Olga Sobolová, Martin Tománek, Michaela Dlouhá, Tomáš Rabl, Roman Strnad, Šárka Vomelová, and Jiří Vojtěšek