Designblok Cosmos heads to Munich Creative Business Week. The largest German design festival will host a showcase of the finest in contemporary Czech glass
10. 5. 2025
Following stops in Prague, Milan, Liberec, and Brussels, the Designblok Cosmos exhibition—organized by the international Prague design festival Designblok with support from the PPF Group—will make its way to Munich. A spectacular metallic capsule mounted on six wheels will open to the public for one week on Königsplatz, right in front of the city’s iconic Propylaea gate. It will showcase original glass works by ten leading Czech designers against the backdrop of an immersive audiovisual show. Subtitled The Intergalactic Beauty of Czech Design, the exhibition proudly represents Czech authorial design, traditional glassmaking craftsmanship, and the innovative approaches of Czech manufacturers. During its five European stops, the unique traveling gallery has captivated over 200,000 visitors and now aims to inspire and foster international cooperation at Munich Creative Business Week—the most important design event in Germany.
For twenty-seven years, Designblok has been shaping the Czech design scene, collaborating with acclaimed designers, supporting emerging talent, connecting creators with industry, raising public awareness, and representing Czech design abroad. All of these ambitions are encapsulated in this extraordinary mobile gallery—a space capsule that houses ten original glass works by ten of the Czech Republic’s most outstanding contemporary designers. The curatorial selection by Designblok director Jana Zielinski and creative director Jiří Macek features artists deeply connected to the festival: Jakub Berdych Karpelis, DECHEM studio, Lucie Koldová, Václav Mlynář, Lukáš Novák, Jiří Pelcl, Rony Plesl, Tadeáš Podracký, Maxim Velčovský and Jan Plecháč, who also designed the exhibition’s architectural concept.
“Designblok Cosmos was conceived in collaboration with the PPF Foundation as a messenger of Czech design, and it has carried out its mission with exceptional success. Top Czech designers across generations have created works for it that represent not only their individual approaches to design but also a wide range of glassmaking techniques. The craftsmanship of Czech glassmakers blends seamlessly with the innovations of the most distinctive Czech designers. I’m delighted that following its premiere in Prague in 2023, Designblok Cosmos has made stops in Milan, Liberec, Brussels, and now Munich. Over three years of traveling, it has reached hundreds of thousands of people who shared their experience of the unique fusion of design, craft, music, and light with others, helping promote Czech design far beyond niche communities. The Munich stop is especially notable for its placement in the heart of the city’s museum district, right in front of the Propylaea gate on Königsplatz. This symbolic city monument—an Ionic-columned triumphal arch inspired by the Athenian Acropolis—provides a spectacular backdrop for the Designblok Cosmos exhibition. I am confident this will be another successful step in promoting Czech design excellence and the Designblok festival,” says Jana Zielinski, director of Designblok.
A truck trailer was custom-adapted for the exhibition and, once parked, unfolds into a 65m² exhibition space. The interior features 170 mirrors from AGC Glass Europe, while the exterior is clad in a silver reflective shell. Audiovisual effects were created in collaboration with Lunchmeat Studio, with original sound design composed by musician Aid Kid. “The nomadic nature of the Designblok Cosmos exhibition inspired me the most during the design process. I aimed to create a striking show—a traveling circus that would present design to the public in a new light and offer an emotionally powerful audiovisual experience. At the same time, the installation had to meet all technical criteria. It’s a mobile structure that needs to allow for easy setup and breakdown while also functioning as a traditional truck trailer during transport,” explains Jan Plecháč, the exhibition’s architect.
The unifying element of the displayed works is their material—glass, a traditional hallmark of Czech craftsmanship—and the overarching theme of an endless cosmic journey. The exhibition celebrates the path Czech design and society have walked together over the past quarter century. These original objects work brilliantly with luminescence, expressing each designer’s creative freedom and showcasing a variety of manufacturing techniques, traditions, and the experimental approaches of Czech factories and studios.
The exhibition was first unveiled to the public in October 2023 during the 25th edition of Designblok in the Royal Garden of Prague Castle. In April 2024, it featured at the Superdesign Show in Milan, and in June, it opened in the gardens of the Regional Gallery in Liberec—returning to the region where the glass objects were first brought to life by master glassmakers. The fourth stop was the Brussels Design September festival, where the exhibition drew strong interest from both the public and professionals. Due to popular demand, it returned in October 2024 to Designblok in Prague, where it was displayed outside the Museum of Prague. The sixth stop is Munich Creative Business Week—Germany’s largest design event, which transforms the city into a hub of innovation, creativity, and business for one week. Through exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and networking events, it emphasizes design’s role as a driver of social and economic transformation.
The Czech diplomatic mission in Munich is also strongly involved in supporting the exhibition’s presence. Jiří Rosenkranz, Director of the Czech Center in Munich, commented: “We see participation in Munich Creative Business Week as a major opportunity to present the best of contemporary Czech design in an international context. We are delighted to help bring Designblok Cosmos into the public space of Munich—especially at a time when we are operating from new premises without our own gallery. That made it all the more important to find new ways to be visibly and actively involved in the city’s cultural life.”
The exhibition marks the 25th anniversary of the Designblok festival and was born from discussions between the Designblok team and the PPF Foundation about how to support and spotlight Czech design on the global stage. “The Designblok Cosmos project aligns perfectly with the principles and values we hold at PPF Foundation and the PPF Group. It draws on centuries of world-renowned Czech glassmaking tradition, while showcasing the personalities shaping Czech design today. It is presented in an unconventional format that is itself a work of art. I am thrilled that, following five successful stops, Designblok Cosmos is now being presented in Munich at one of the most prestigious design events in Europe—and as one of the festival’s highlights,” says Ladislav Pflimpfl, Group Head of Brand at PPF.
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive catalog featuring interviews with the participating artists and original photographs by acclaimed Czech photographer Václav Jirásek. In Munich, visitors will also find a printed brochure with detailed information about the works, guided tours, and opportunities to meet the curators and designers.
Designblok Cosmos will be on view at the Propylaea Gate on Königsplatz from May 10 to 17, 2025. Weekday hours are 12 PM–8 PM, weekend hours are 10 AM–8 PM. Admission is free. The official opening ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 13 at 5 PM. For more information, visit the dedicated page here.
