The association is preparing an overview of architecture in the Ústí region

Ústí nad Labem - Members of the civic association 400/27 have set themselves the task of mapping the majority of important buildings that have been constructed in Ústí nad Labem and its surroundings from 1900 to the present on the website www.usti-aussig.net. Some of these have already appeared in professional literature, but there is a lack of a comprehensive guide to Ústí's architecture, said Jan Vaca from the association today to ČTK.
The website will be available for interested parties to view for the first time on December 31. The establishment of the site has been financially supported by the Ústí nad Labem magistrate and the Czech Architecture Foundation, and the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně in Ústí is also collaborating. "The Ústí - Aussig.net project, including ancillary costs, amounts to 60,000 crowns. However, this does not cover any fees; the enthusiasts from the association dedicate their free time and effort to the website for free," Vaca stated.
The database builds on the website www.aussig.mysteria.cz, which is run by architect Matěj Páral, who is also the main author of the published articles and data in the database www.usti-aussig.net. "The new database has more criteria, it is more developed. It currently contains around 30 buildings and the same number of architects; our ambition is to encompass several hundred important buildings that have been constructed in the region. We will gradually supplement the website," Vaca added.
The Ústí port on the Elbe was one of the largest in Austria-Hungary before World War I, which contributed to the massive development of industrial production. While it negatively affected the environment, it brought enormous sums of money into the city and led to related construction boom. Wealthy families commissioned the construction of large palaces according to the latest architectural trends, and some factory owners also realized they needed to ensure adequate housing for their workers.
In Ústí, a unique mixture of architectural styles emerged, which can still be partially assessed today. The appearance of the regional capital was significantly disrupted between 1948 and 1989; however, according to Vaca, several interesting buildings were constructed in Ústí nad Labem during this period.
"Since 1989, the city has not had much luck attracting wealthy and especially conscious investors, so the return to quality architecture is very slow. One of the few exceptions is the city-funded construction of the Mariánský Bridge, which is among the best world constructions from the end of the last millennium," Vaca pointed out.
The civic association 400/27 was founded in 2001 by a group of then-students at the Institute of Creative Photography at the Silesian University in Opava. The goal of the association is primarily to organize longer-term documentary photography projects, which also extend into other fields, such as sociology and architecture. The association currently has several projects behind it:
In 2001 and 2002, the association organized an annual photographic mapping of life in Ústí nad Labem. In 2005 and 2006, members of the association worked on the project Pictures from My Native Village Lipová - Spansdorf 1915 - 2005 (www.lipova-spansdorf.net), which is based on the work of the former Ústí archivist F. J. Umlauft.