Professional Assistant
Concept and focus of the studio
I would like to run the studio in the spirit of thinking in context. I am very fond of projects that understand the task in depth and work with the place and its relationships. Portable prefabricated buildings that simply move across the surface of the earth without change are far from my interests. I am fascinated by buildings that are connected to the ground and, although they are completely new, we feel that they clearly belong to the place and that perhaps they have always been there. When we are near them, we feel beauty, harmony and coherence, similar to the great works of music. Thinking in context does not mean only starting from the givens of the place. The place itself can tell us, but it cannot give us all the answers, that is certainly not enough, the contexts are also social, customary, cultural and spiritual. Only from mutual harmony and deep understanding do high-quality and good designs come out. It seems to me that there are already a number of great architects in our country who can work with buildings in such a sensitive way. However, it is more than obvious that sensitivity and perception are missing when working in larger urban areas. The environment in which we live, which has long been artificial, or rather modified by man, is nowadays the result of certainly well-intentioned intentions of specific perspectives on the matter, which lack thinking in context. Partial specializations certainly bring useful and practical knowledge on how to organize our environment, but always only from the perspective of the partial specialization. By focusing too much on detail, we miss the whole in which we live and which we always inevitably perceive as such. I would like to focus on the person's perspective, on his perception, on his comfort and safety, on the atmosphere of the place and the effect of individual parts. Of the theoretical works, I was most moved by the articles of Camillo Sitte, Joseph Stuebben, Leon Kriere, Christoph Alexander, Vittorio Magnano Lampugnani, Jan Gehl and others who are interested in the relationship between man and the environment.
I would therefore like to focus on tasks in a broader context, but always on a manageable size. It could be the preparation of new residential areas, the reconstruction and completion of places that are broken and need our attention. We will choose tasks that are diverse, from preparing building plans for larger units, through smaller sets of buildings, individual houses to solving smaller challenges such as new connections, public staircases, embankments, etc. I am interested in their significance for society for all the designs. Each semester we will choose one area that the entire studio will focus on and on which various tasks will be posted. Larger solutions will be possible to solve in a small team and thus try out the format of mutual teamwork.
On the practical side, we will focus on honest craftsmanship and the basic alphabet of design, from which you can build your own ideas and opinions. Only craftsmanship and discipline are the basis for a free and open spirit, for which I would very much like to create an environment and conditions.