Sabine Marcelis, Winy Maas, Erwan Bouroullec, Snøhetta and others will present at the largest Czech conference on design and architecture – Designblok Talks
24. 9. 2025
A new feature of the 27th edition of the Prague International Design Festival Designblok is Designblok Talks – a platform for lectures, discussions, and meetings of professionals across disciplines. This new pillar of the expert programme, which becomes an integral part of the Day of Professionals, has been created in cooperation with the world’s most-read design platform Dezeen, the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP), and the companies Vitra, Ravak, and Konsepti. In the multi-genre Nová Spirála venue at Výstaviště, on Tuesday, 7 October, from 9:00 to 19:00, leading figures of the global scene will take the stage – French designer and artist Erwan Bouroullec, Norwegian studio Snøhetta, Dutch architect and urbanist Winy Maas, designers Sabine Marcelis and Patrick Norguet, curator and journalist Yoko Choy, and cultural strategist Cyril Zammit. The conference will thematically focus on the future and courage in design, housing, and the architectural development of Prague, and will offer space for professional development and international networking.
Designblok is expanding its professional programme and introducing a key platform for expert discussion about the development and future of design and architecture – Designblok Talks. The conference is also the central innovation of the Day of Professionals, which is intended for architects, interior designers, developers, curators, gallerists, journalists and other professionals before the official opening of the festival. It connects domestic and international experts and opens space for international networking, inspiration and collaboration. The conference will be hosted by moderator and editor Daniela Brzobohatá. “With the leaders of world design we will discuss the future of design, of Prague, of housing, and the new features presented by this year’s Designblok. I am pleased that we are thus expanding the expert part for our very important target group: architects, designers and developers,” says Jana Zielinski, Director of the Designblok festival.
The Designblok Talks programme will be divided into five thematic blocks, unified by the theme of Courage, which runs through this year’s Designblok. The opening section, prepared in cooperation with the world’s most-read online design magazine Dezeen and moderated by its editor-in-chief Max Fraser, will focus on The Future of Design. Presentations of projects and ideas will be given by Dutch designer and visual artist Sabine Marcelis, cultural strategist and design expert and co-founder of Dubai Design Week Cyril Zammit, journalist and long-time editor of Wallpaper* China and co-founder of Collective Contemporist Yoko Choy, French designer Patrick Norguet, and leading Czech designer Lucie Koldová. The section is also supported by leading bathroom manufacturer Ravak. “Designblok has long been an integral part of our work and our lives, and we watch with admiration how the once small, playful ‘child’ of Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek has grown, strongly and healthily. That’s why we were happy to support it this year in the new Designblok Talks project. For us as a company that applies design literally in everyday life, the theme The Future of Design is more than important,” adds Patrik Kreysa, co-owner of Ravak.
The next block, titled The Future of Living, will present innovative projects in development, housing and interior design. Speakers will include Czech sculptor, architect and educator Jakub Cigler; Stanislav Martinec and Marie Schüller from KOMA Modular will present modular living; and ESTY Real Estate Services, whose projects are created under the direction of designer Jan Černý, will also be featured. The section will conclude with the perspective of Bernard Dubois, the renowned Belgian architect and designer with iconic interior design realisations.
After the lunch break, conference participants will have the opportunity to visit the festival’s exhibitions in the Křižík Pavilions at Výstaviště before they open to the general public on Wednesday, 8 October. The Day of Professionals traditionally serves as a business and networking platform and enables personal meetings between five thousand professionals in architecture, interior design, manufacturing, development, curating and journalism and more than two hundred Designblok exhibitors. For festival visitors, the Designblok Stage in Křižík Pavilion E will also be available throughout the festival, addressing the socio-economic and environmental overlaps of design as well as education.
In a standalone presentation in the first afternoon block, the famous Norwegian architectural studio Snøhetta will present its first furniture collection – the innovative modular seating system Array for MDF Italia, which will be on view for the entire duration of the festival in the Konsepti showroom. “A simple idea developed into amazing compositions. The timeless, refined design suppresses its strong ego and fits perfectly into any interior. Moreover, it is a significantly sustainable project. Simply a modern design concept at its best. We are delighted that after Milan and London, representatives of Snøhetta will personally introduce their breakthrough product in Prague – in our showroom and at the Designblok Talks conference,” adds David Řezníček, Brand Director at Konsepti.
In the thematic section The Future of Prague, moderated by Dezeen’s co-editor Benedict Hobson, Designblok Talks will address the future of architecture and the development of the Czech capital. Dutch architect, urbanist, landscape architect and co-founder of MVRDV Winy Maas will present the extension project of the third terminal at Prague Airport and revolutionary ideas. Jan Magasaník, an architect from the Copenhagen studio Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which designed the new Vltava Philharmonic, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the most important Prague building of the next decade. Rozálie Kašparová – architect, urbanist and co-founder of Studio Bistro, which focuses on long-term concepts for the development of public spaces, visual smog, blue-green infrastructure and the fight against visual smog in cities – will also speak.
The partner of this section is the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP) at the Prague Institute of Planning and Development. “At CAMP we have been opening discussions on the form and future of Prague for a long time, which is why we are pleased to co-curate the content of this year’s first Design Talks with the theme The Future of Prague. Together with our partners, we bring inspiration from top architects as well as young creators, and we want to show that the courage to think differently about the city is key to its development,” says Štěpán Bärtl, Head of CAMP.
The programme will close with French designer and artist Erwan Bouroullec, who, in a discussion moderated by Eva Slunečková, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decoration, will present his unorthodox approach to design and his new chair designed for the Swiss brand Vitra. This new piece will also be on view as part of a dedicated installation in the Křižík Pavilions. “The installation, conceived as an artist’s studio, will focus primarily on the new Mynt – a modern task chair that is at the same time a work of art. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet its author in person either at the installation in the Křižík Pavilions or during the Designblok Talks conference, which will offer a unique insight into his creative process,” says Jiří Zavadil, Managing Director of Vitra for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Day of Professionals and Designblok Talks conference will culminate in the festive opening of the 27th edition of Designblok around the Křižík Fountain and in the Křižík Pavilions.
The creation of the Designblok Talks conference has been supported by partners CAMP, the Prague Institute of Planning and Development, Dezeen, ESTY Real Estate Services, KOMA Modular, Konsepti, PENTA Real Estate, PSN, Ravak and Vitra.
The 27th edition of Designblok will be open to the public from 8 to 12 October in the Křižík Pavilions and Nová Spirála at Výstaviště Praha, at the Royal Summer Palace at Prague Castle, the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Rudolfinum Gallery and other locations across Prague. More about the Designblok Talks and the complete programme can be found at Designblok Talks.
