The situation on the architectural market is good, says Jan Mach, a partner at Mjölk architekti, a Czech studio based in Liberec. Ola Kloc talks with the architect about ideas for the development of residential architecture (and policy), materials of the future and common sense.
Jan Mach will speak at the BIG Architecture festival, which will take place on May 22 and 23 in Portorož, Slovenia. The event, under the theme "Common Sense / Space / Responsibility... in Architecture," will focus on a common sense approach to the future of the built environment. Experts will discuss responsible development and design, and a curated program will address pressing global issues, including climate change resilience, closed-loop construction and reuse in architecture.
BIG Architecture
© organizers archive
Ola Kloc: What is the professional situation of architects on the Czech labor market?
Jan Mach: We opened our office in 2008, when there was a crisis and a market collapse. A lot has changed since then. We started as a small company and slowly grew, and today we employ 20 people.
From our point of view, the situation is good, we have a lot of work and have managed to make a name for ourselves on the Czech architectural scene.
We have very good clients who deserve a professional approach and good architecture. We don't work very often with large professional developers, where there is a lot of budget pressure. We like to work freely and we are glad we could choose this path.
Ola Kloc: What challenges do you think architects face today?
Jan Mach: There are many of them. In recent years we have mainly designed residential buildings in local cities. This is an important issue in the Czech Republic, because apartments are very expensive and young people cannot afford to buy them. Cities should have the tools to deal with this situation.
This is where we come in - we want to work with smaller cities to build apartments even in less central regions where it is more difficult. The northern part of the Czech Republic, where we come from, is close to the border with Poland. Germans lived here before World War II, and it is a difficult region of the country. Designing here is very interesting.
Palác Jizera
© Mjölk architekti
Ola Kloc: It's hardly a topic for politicians?
Jan Mach: Yes, that's true. But we didn't wait for politics to deal with it - we turned to the cities themselves. We asked mayors if they were planning to build housing, and developed a full action plan: getting financing, making contacts, and looking for funds in the state budget. We were happy to create our own projects.
These cities have often been neglected, but still offer valuable plots of land in the center on which to build new housing without major historical restrictions.
Another thing we're betting on is building with wood - mainly cross-laminated timber (CLT), which we consider to be the material of the future. It is versatile and suitable for many types of buildings. However, it requires a change in public perception, as people still approach wood construction with caution. We believe it is a path worth pursuing.
Kloboucká lesní company headquarters
Photo: BoysPlayNice
Ola Kloc: You took part in the BIG Architecture festival, whose motto is "Common Sense in Architecture." What does the common sense approach to architecture mean to you?
Jan Mach: If we decide to build with wood from forests within a hundred kilometers of the site and do it in a thoughtful and correct way, we can use certain technologies. We like modern solutions, but we don't think that buildings have to be full of them. What matters is thoughtful design: the right elements, properly shaped space and a building that is not too dependent on things like air conditioning.
If clients are open to this approach, we believe we can offer them really good solutions.
Kloboucká lesní company headquarters
Photo: BoysPlayNice
Ola Kloc: Your project's Kloboucká lesní corporate headquarters is an example of sustainable design. What distinguishes this realization? How does it respond to contemporary challenges?
Jan Mach: This is a large wooden building that serves as the headquarters of a wood manufacturing company. In this case, we designed a rather modern, majestic building that doesn't require too many heating solutions, as it is quite self-sufficient and everything was designed with that in mind.
We were asked to design this building as an example of what can be built with wood. It is a corporate headquarters, but it could also be a school, any kind of office, or even a train station - any functional public building made entirely of wood and glass.
Kloboucká lesní company headquarters
Photo: BoysPlayNice
Ola Kloc: Thank you for the interview.
