Petr Stolín Architect - exhibition at DUČB

Curator: Filip Šenk, Michal Škoda

Petr Stolín (1958) belongs to the small group of contemporary Czech architects whose work can be compared to the world's top in the field. The designs of Petr Stolín do not conform to the speed and photogenic nature of media events, as their aim is to develop an authentic experience of inhabited space. The reason for this success is primarily a long-term exploration of the fundamental qualities of architectural art, which has led him to a developed poetics of restraint.
The exhibition of the Liberec architect Petr Stolín prepared for the Gallery of Contemporary Art and Architecture does not represent his work through models or different representations of architecture. And this is despite the fact that the buildings created by the architect in collaboration with Alena Mičeková have received awards and recognition from both domestic and foreign experts. The reason is simple: the exhibition seeks to convey a message about what is most important in architecture.
What is architecture at all? This simple question can be answered with several dictionary definitions, but it is not certain that after reading them, the inquirer will truly gain the desired understanding. One can speak of the play of volumes, tectonics, dressing, construction, space, and certainly other approaches through which one can come closer to understanding architecture. Petr Stolín answers this question through the practice of architecture and life. How he thinks about architecture is how he lives himself. That is why the exhibition does not emphasize forms or materials as the goals of architectural thinking, but shows them as a part of everyday life in Zen Houses (2015), which the architect designed for himself.
For Petr Stolín, the most important thing in architecture is how it opens up possibilities for life within it.
In other words, the exhibition focuses on what the everyday life of the poetics of restraint looks like. In Zen Houses, the architect chose an experimental form of lived space. He did not do this out of a vain desire for visibility; ultimately, if the house and atelier are expressions of something, then it is concentrated searching, not a fat, showy outburst. The experiment is the result of long professional experience, as well as an expression of a critical view of the inundation and overlaying of life with things and information. To clarify, we can ask a simple question that directly relates to the experimental reflections of modernity at the beginning of the last century: what space is sufficient for a person to lead an authentic, dignified, and fulfilled life?
Zen Houses, whether one duplex or two masses of one house, are a concrete answer. This brought Petr Stolín wide recognition. Especially noteworthy is the main prize of the first year of the Czech Architecture Award (2016), awarded by an international jury. The principles verified by the architect through this building were further developed in the building of a kindergarten in Nová Ruda (2018).
Both buildings are characterized by a purification from everything superfluous. Particularly, Zen Houses are built from common and affordable materials (SIP wooden panels, wood, laminate) that are not demanding in terms of handling and maintenance. However, note: simplification here in no way means a decrease in the quality of architecture. These houses clearly demonstrate that quality architecture is not conditioned by an unlimited budget and advanced technological possibilities. However, it would be too much simplification to perceive it as architecture against something. What makes it exceptional is not an oppositional stance, but rather a supportive stance: it discovers different forms of life through an unusual articulation of space.
Zen Houses are simple volumes for complex spatial considerations: if you stand inside, you can almost reach from one wall to the other when you stretch out your arms. At the same time, thanks to the generous opening and optical connection of both blocks, there is never a feeling of being cramped or overly closed in. Zen Houses consist of two blocks, but the space in between must also be included. There are various levels of spatial experience, from closed, intimate parts to generously optically connected interiors of both blocks to the private exterior space between the houses. This understanding led the architect to design an environment for the children of Nová Ruda that is even richer in space. Children have the opportunity to utilize moments of high, intimate, transparent space according to their own needs and daily activities. They have (out of necessity) play platforms, as well as the space between the laminate veil and the two main blocks. The space here layers, intertwines, and opens up to children's imagination.
When speaking about Petr Stolín, one cannot overlook his collaboration with his brother Jan, a sculptor. We must remember their exceptional Memorial to the Fighters and Victims for the Freedom of the Homeland (2000) in Liberec. They collaborate in a constant crossing of the boundary between visual art and architecture. In recent years, this was very evident, for example, in their joint exhibition 5866 at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery (2018) with a surprising experience of the usual space of that gallery.
Petr Stolín works as an associate professor and head of the Department of Architecture at the Faculty of Art and Architecture of the Technical University in Liberec. In addition to his own practice, he enhances a thoughtful approach to architecture through teaching. A significant part of his pedagogical activity involves working with models, during which students focus on the spatial effect and feeling of designs. Ultimately, as the architect himself says: “As I create, so I live, and as I live, so I teach.”