Ľudovít Kupkovič
Biography
Ľudovít "Lajo" Kupkovič is an artist, architect, photographer, designer, graphic artist, and in his youth, a successful athlete and representative of Czechoslovakia in long jump and triple jump.
He was born in Záhorie in the town of Holíč. When he was 6 years old, his parents moved to Žilina, and since then he has been a Žilinčan "as a beet". He spent his secondary school years in the beautiful and famous Art Nouveau building of the Žilina Secondary School. During his high school studies, his strongest emotion was love for sports. His greatest love was the queen of sports - athletics. He started in the athletic club Dynamo Žilina in 1957 under the guidance of coach Vlastimil Holík. A year later, as a junior, he won the title of Slovak champion in triple jump with a performance of 13.20 m. After graduating, he continued his studies at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, majoring in architecture. In sports, he continued at the university club Slávia Bratislava SVŠT. In 1962, he won the Slovak university championship in triple jump with a new Slovak junior record of 14.38 m. Two years later, in 1964, he set a Slovak junior record with a performance of 14.72 m. In 1965, he dominated the Czechoslovak indoor championships with a Czechoslovak junior record of 722 cm in long jump. Subsequently, as the first Slovak in history, he broke the fifteen-meter barrier in triple jump and set a Slovak adult record of 15.18 m in Bratislava. In long jump and triple jump, he represented Czechoslovakia in international athletic meetings against Romania, Poland, and Hungary.
After finishing his studies, he completed military service at Dukla Banská Bystrica, competing in the I. national league while wearing their colors. After returning from military service in 1968-69, he represented his home club ZVL Žilina. After an injury, he left active competition. In 1968, he began working as an architect at Stavoprojekt Žilina, where he created several interesting projects for residential, social, civic, and cultural buildings in the city of Žilina and throughout Czechoslovakia. In 1969, he designed the construction and interiors of the Slovenská koliba in Prague in collaboration with co-author Oto Sedlák. From 1974 to 1995, in the group of prospective architecture VAL with V. Mecková and A. Mlynárčik, they designed a memorial for E. A. Cernan, a descendant of Slovak emigrants from Vysoká nad Kysucou, who landed on the Moon on December 10, 1972, with the APOLLO 17 mission. In 1986, his lifelong work - the Sports Hall in Žilina, nicknamed "the turtle", was handed over for use, serving not only for all indoor sports but also for fairs, exhibitions, concerts, and various social events. The Union of Slovak Architects awarded him and the structural engineer of the roof construction the prize for the best architecture of 1986. The hall served its purpose for less than 20 years. “I never thought that my greatest work would perish before I do,” the honoree himself says with sadness in his voice. In 1988, an elegant city sports hall in Považská Bystrica was built according to his design.
Ľudovít "Lajo" Kupkovič is an artist, architect, photographer, designer, graphic artist, and in his youth, a successful athlete and representative of Czechoslovakia in long jump and triple jump.
He was born in Záhorie in the town of Holíč. When he was 6 years old, his parents moved to Žilina, and since then he has been a Žilinčan "as a beet". He spent his secondary school years in the beautiful and famous Art Nouveau building of the Žilina Secondary School. During his high school studies, his strongest emotion was love for sports. His greatest love was the queen of sports - athletics. He started in the athletic club Dynamo Žilina in 1957 under the guidance of coach Vlastimil Holík. A year later, as a junior, he won the title of Slovak champion in triple jump with a performance of 13.20 m. After graduating, he continued his studies at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, majoring in architecture. In sports, he continued at the university club Slávia Bratislava SVŠT. In 1962, he won the Slovak university championship in triple jump with a new Slovak junior record of 14.38 m. Two years later, in 1964, he set a Slovak junior record with a performance of 14.72 m. In 1965, he dominated the Czechoslovak indoor championships with a Czechoslovak junior record of 722 cm in long jump. Subsequently, as the first Slovak in history, he broke the fifteen-meter barrier in triple jump and set a Slovak adult record of 15.18 m in Bratislava. In long jump and triple jump, he represented Czechoslovakia in international athletic meetings against Romania, Poland, and Hungary.
After finishing his studies, he completed military service at Dukla Banská Bystrica, competing in the I. national league while wearing their colors. After returning from military service in 1968-69, he represented his home club ZVL Žilina. After an injury, he left active competition. In 1968, he began working as an architect at Stavoprojekt Žilina, where he created several interesting projects for residential, social, civic, and cultural buildings in the city of Žilina and throughout Czechoslovakia. In 1969, he designed the construction and interiors of the Slovenská koliba in Prague in collaboration with co-author Oto Sedlák. From 1974 to 1995, in the group of prospective architecture VAL with V. Mecková and A. Mlynárčik, they designed a memorial for E. A. Cernan, a descendant of Slovak emigrants from Vysoká nad Kysucou, who landed on the Moon on December 10, 1972, with the APOLLO 17 mission. In 1986, his lifelong work - the Sports Hall in Žilina, nicknamed "the turtle", was handed over for use, serving not only for all indoor sports but also for fairs, exhibitions, concerts, and various social events. The Union of Slovak Architects awarded him and the structural engineer of the roof construction the prize for the best architecture of 1986. The hall served its purpose for less than 20 years. “I never thought that my greatest work would perish before I do,” the honoree himself says with sadness in his voice. In 1988, an elegant city sports hall in Považská Bystrica was built according to his design.
Žilinský Večerník, 16.5.2023
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