The great book of power plant architecture in Slovakia – from historic hydroelectric and thermal power plants to atomic machines. In Slovakia, there are still plants preserved today that function as living museums. They have remained unchanged since the time of the Titanic and continue to supply electricity to the grid as long as there are people to replace the parts. Industrial architecture historians Eva Belláková and Veronika Chládeková, together with photographer Matej Hakár, visited 21 selected facilities from Bratislava through Mochovce, Upper Nitra, Kremnica, Kežmarok, and Vojany. These facilities reflect the development of 20th-century architecture. However, environmental impact has become the new priority.
Texts: Eva Belláková, Veronika Chládeková, Martin Lipták, Katarína Velschmidt, Ľudovít Hallon, Pavla Lényiová, Danica Pišteková
Photographs: Matej Hakár
Collaboration: Katarína Antalová
Book design: Ľubica Segečová
Maps and diagrams: Zuzana Kovaľová, Veronika Chládeková, Eva Belláková
Editorial support: Martin Lipták, Michal Tornyai
Editorial revision: Nataša Holinová, Martin Lipták
Print run: 2,500 copies
Number of pages: 272
Printing and binding: Protisk, České Budějovice
Font: Monument Grotesk
Paper: Arctic Volume White, Peyer Surbalin Glatt, Colorplan Bright Red
Dimensions: 24.5 × 30.5 × 2.5 cm
Author: Mgr. art. Matej Hakár
Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia
DAAD 2024 event
documentation 024
“Matej Hakár (1982) systematically focuses on architectural photography. He collaborates with clients and publishers on various commercial and personal projects, which involve new architectural realizations, cultural heritage, and human interventions in the landscape. He studied photography and new media at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. In 2019, he completed an internship at KASK & CONSERVATORIUM School of Arts in Ghent.
At the Days of Architecture and Design 2024, he created a temporary spatial installation of architectural images. The projected photographs depict works by Slovak architectural studios and architects. The selection of photographs adheres to aesthetic criteria with an attempt to monumentalize architectural principles without the necessity of having a documentary statement or being truthful.
Architectural works, authors:
Slovak National Gallery reconstruction – Architekti BKPŠ
Primary school Bernolákovo – BAKYTA architekt
Ateliers Nádvorie – Sadovsky & Architects
Municipal office Leopoldov – Architekti zerozero
Extension and superstructure ZŠ Ivana Bukovčana, Bratislava – Ing. arch. Martin Hudec, PhD., Ing. arch. Katarína Bergerová
Renewal Mierového a Kláštorného námestia v Malackách – N/A