Jiřičná will receive a lifetime achievement award at the London festival

London - The London Design Festival has awarded the Czech architect Eva Jiřičná this year's medal for lifetime achievement. The award is given to individuals who have left a "significant and fundamental" mark in the field of design throughout their career. Jiřičná, along with other honorees, will receive the medal on September 17, the website dezeen.com reported.

Jiřičná, who celebrated her 79th birthday in March, has lived in London since 1968. The native of Zlín stated in an interview with the organizers of the London Design Festival that the British metropolis has provided her with freedom, both personally and professionally. "England, and specifically London, has given me everything I could have wished for as a person living in Czechoslovakia at the end of the 1960s," said the Order of the British Empire holder.

Among the most famous projects of the Czech architect is the interior of the London building of insurance company Lloyds and the flagship store of fashion brand Joseph, which she designed in 1988. In May of this year, the Educational Complex of Tomas Bata University in Zlín, which she designed with her Prague team, was named Building of the Year 2017 in the Zlín Region. In 2013, Jiřičná received an award in Britain for her exceptional contribution to the status of women in architecture, named after the British architect Jane Drew.

"There isn't one specific work that I would be particularly proud of," Jiřičná replied when asked about the most valued project of her career. "I am just immensely grateful to everyone who has worked with me, who entrusted me with work. Everything in architecture involves teamwork, and I have worked with so many amazing people," she added.

During the London Design Festival, works from all four winners of this year's medals will be exhibited at the V&A Museum from September 15 to 23. The main prize will be awarded to fashion designer Hussein Chalayan, born in Cyprus, who is known for his avant-garde designs.