Invitation to the Mjölk architects exhibition - Week in self

MPLACE: HOUSE OF ART ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE
DATE: 6.9. – 7.10. 2012
OPENING: WEDNESDAY 5.9. 2012 FROM 6 PM.
ARCHITECTS' LECTURE AT DU: MONDAY 24.9. FROM 6 PM
DU Curator: Michal Škoda

Mjölk architects first caught attention in 2010 when they built a sauna on an unused concrete platform in the middle of the Liberec dam as a gift to the city, although it was later removed by order of the Elbe basin. Another significant milestone was last year's victory in the prestigious international competition The Warming Huts in Winnipeg, Canada. Competing against 40 proposals from around the world, they received the highest award and, along with three other selected architects (including Frank Gehry), realized their design Polar Hen, serving as a shelter for tired athletes.

Another success came in the form of an awarded proposal in the A Room for London competition, which attracted over five hundred studios, and Mjölk advanced to the finals with four competing designs. The competition's task was to propose a standalone apartment on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall concert hall in London.

The Mjölk studio was founded by three architects, graduates of the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University in Liberec – Jan Mach, Pavel Nalezený /now at Raketoplán studio/ and Jan Vondrák. After two years, they welcomed Vojtěch Urban, who manages organization and marketing, and gradually the studio grew into its current form, with additional members: Jakub Adamec /now also at Raketoplán/, Daniel Baudis, Lukáš Holub, and Dan Rohan.

This is a studio with a relatively short but very intense existence. Their activity is not only limited to the projects mentioned above but also includes a number of very successful realizations or constructions currently underway. Notable recently completed projects include a new observation tower in Heřmanice, houses in Třebáň, Staré Boleslavi, and others…
Their projects consistently create a very pleasant atmosphere with their naturalness, lightness, sensitivity to materials, and a certain design expression that is not intended to conform to any fleeting trend. The creations stem from an overall concept based on human scale, a relationship with nature and place, always accompanied by a clearly thought-out interior solution.

For České Budějovice, Mjölk has prepared a new, special project that relates to their favorite theme – public space – whether viewed from the perspective of improving life in the city or raising questions about what public space actually is, how to approach it, how to utilize it, and how to define its issues.



WEEK IN SELF / Week in Oneself /

Landing on the Moon
In the main square of České Budějovice, a minimal house will be created for one month. The object will be on high legs, so it does not interfere with everyday life at ground level while providing its inhabitants with enough privacy.
In this space of 6.25m2, four people will alternate during the month-long exhibition: Richard Loskot /artist – this year's finalist for the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize/, Milan Kreuzzieger /art historian/, Karolína Baranová /actress/, and Michal Škoda /artist - curator/. Each will stay in the house for one week. They will be masters of their time and space. They will have all the necessities needed for comfortable living.

The project continues the line of our previous architectural work, which starts with small-scale projects aimed at maximizing the efficiency of living space. Efficiency is not just about numbers of built areas, but the added value of experiences and moods that the house offers its inhabitant.

Neither a prison nor a laboratory
The project is not an experiment; the goal is not scientific knowledge.
The house aims to offer people a new experience of inhabiting minimal space, a new experience within the city. It serves as a mediator of new experiences and perceptions for both its residents and passersby. The design of the house is adapted to provide residents with maximum possible comfort within the limits of minimal dimensions.

Observer of the Urban Landscape
Spatial sterility pulls residents of the house out of the ordinary through the arrangement of space and things. It simplifies the transition from a usual semi-conscious perception of the world into full alertness, aiding self-awareness in relation to the surrounding space and objects. By enclosing themselves in a small but thoughtfully designed space, its inhabitants can gain great freedom. Solitude allows concentration and pushes the thinking of the house's occupant beyond the limits of ordinary perception.

The object breaks the virginity of centuries of preserved space in the middle of the square and directs the thoughts of its inhabitants. It is a lookout in the forest of people, a cabin on the rock-paved square.

I am an urbanized hunter in a lookout stand.
I pleasantly bore myself doing nothing like at a cottage.
I have time.