I love shortcuts and passages. And there is maybe a hundred of them in the centre of Prague. One of the easily accessible passages is Pasáž Českého Designu – a passage that is actually a gallery of modern Czech design.

The primary target of this passage is an attempt to slow down the passing people, to show them something new, interesting, to keep them informed about the new trends and also to introduce them to young designers from different fields.

It may be a bit of a surprise that the passage as it is now was opened only in 2016. The owner of the building is the National bank of the Czech Republic, and they decided to use this public space to educate people! I think this is a really nice idea, and no-one can really tell that the windows showing the design works are new.

This passage itself was built in ’30s, like the bank above it, and it shows all the elements of the functionalist style used during that time. My favourite part of this passage is the floor though, as it copies the shape of the space.