Seminar by Slavomíra Ferenčuhová, Wednesday 28.1.

The Department of Ecological Anthropology invites you to the upcoming seminar talk 'Beyond Environmental sustainability: The social life of historical timber houses in Czechia‘ by Slavomíra Ferenčuhová, researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences.

The lecture will take place on Wednesday 28.1.2026 at 14:00 (CET) in the seminar room of the Institute of Ethnology CAS, Na Florenci 3, Prague 1. To attend in person or online, please register.

Abstract: This presentation redefines sustainability in housing construction by looking beyond the environmental and technological focus often dominating timber architecture debates. Focusing on the post-war "Finnish houses" in Czechia, the talk examines the social life of these prefabricated timber homes since the 1950s and the practices their residents have used to adjust, maintain, and reconstruct them. These overlooked socio-technical practices invite a new understanding of what makes prefabricated timber residential architecture truly sustainable.

Bio: Slavomíra Ferenčuhová is a researcher at the Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), specializing in the sociology of the city and housing. Her research interests include post-socialist cities in Central and Eastern Europe, prefabricated residential architecture from the socialist era, and the subtle, everyday practices that urban dwellers develop in response to global challenges. Since 2021, she has served as the head of the research team of the Centre for the Study of Social Change and the Material Environment (CESCAME), a project supported by the Lumina quaeruntur Premium awarded by CAS.

PDF here

PDF of the Seminar Series here