The Architect's Cycle this time compares the Italian and Polish approaches

Lectures and discussions with successful architects from both the Czech and European scenes have been organized by the Kruh association for the fifteenth year now. This year, we have already welcomed 1 Slovak and 5 Czech female architects at the Studio Hrdinů stage, who spoke about their work, projects, and journalistic activities. The cycle continues in April with a lecture by Mariabruna Fabrizi from the Paris studio Microcities and Malgorata Pizio-Domiczová from Poland, who, together with her husband, works on building designs in Opole in a minimalist style. The lecture by both architects will take place at the French Institute on April 7th at 7:30 PM, and entry to the event is free.

The situation for women in the field of architecture is significantly different from that in 2003 when the Kruh organization presented the project of the exhibition and catalog "The Profession of Architect." “Today's world offers richer and more diverse opportunities, and female architects and architectural historians are finding their place in it more and more,” comments the situation Marcela Steinbachová, the event's organizer. Based merely on the logic of the situation, we can imagine the possibilities of employment in large European cities and in the rural areas of Central Europe. Such a confrontation will be presented by the work of the young Paris-based Mariabruna Fabrizi with nearly a generation older Polish architect Małgorzata Pizio-Domiczová.

Mariabruna Fabrizi: Field and Wall
The work of the Microcities studio is shown through two parallel perspectives: on one side through its architectural and urban planning projects, and on the other side through topics focused on the developing online atlas of art, architecture, and media Socks. “We started this blog in 2006. Initially, my colleague and I gathered material here that was not directly related to architecture, serving rather as a space for content we wanted to preserve and analyze. Over time, it became a hybrid between a magazine and a growing visual atlas,” describes the inception of the atlas Fabrizi. Both layers are interconnected to a certain extent and influence each other. All projects of the studio arise based on research, competitions, and commissions, as well as through text creation and curatorial activities.

Mariabruna Fabrizi studied at the University of Roma Tre in Rome and is the founder and partner of the Paris architectural studio Microcities. Together with Fosco Lucarelli, she is currently conducting independent research, published on the website Socks-studio.com. She is co-curating the main exhibition at the Lisbon Architectural Triennale entitled "The Form of Form," which will take place in the fall of this year. In 2014, she also presented her work at the Venice Biennale.

Małgorzata Pizio-Domicz: Architecture and Small Town
The lecture will present the first personal projects and implementations created in the public sector as well as those Małgorzata Pizio-Domicz worked on with her husband in their own studio. M. i A. Domicz is a small family studio that processes building designs in Opole, Poland, and the surrounding area. They strive for dignity and simplicity close to minimalism, which, as the author claims: “In regional cities like Opole, this is neither usual nor easily accepted.” A similar situation exists in Czech conditions. Among her most interesting projects is the reconstruction of the Artpunkt building – a center for artistic education in Opole, Poland, where Małgorzata and her husband had to deal with the poor condition of a long-neglected building as well as a demanding construction program. The architects entirely rebuilt the house. For the cladding of the entire roof, translucent plastic panels were chosen, which are affixed to the facade with irregularly spaced stainless steel anchors. In the places of empty windows, they installed LED lights that create the impression of a facade with a regular window grid when illuminated at dusk.

Małgorzata Pizio-Domiczová studied architecture at the Polytechnic in Poznań. Between 1980–1990, she worked in state project enterprises. Since 1990, she has been collaborating with Antoni Domicz. In 2014, they were jointly awarded an honorary award from SARP, which is the highest award from the Polish Association of Architects for lifetime achievement.

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As part of two more lectures in the ARCHITECTURES cycle, three other renowned Swiss architects will bring inspiration from abroad. They will illustrate their unique understanding of architecture with examples of their realizations.

May 5
Isa Stürm: All Possible Kisses of Architecture (Los Super Elegantes II) and
Nathalie Rossetti: Rossetti+Wyss. Studio Hrdinů, Veletržní palace, Prague

June 2
Angela Deuber. Studio Hrdinů, Veletržní palace, Prague

Entry is free; loaning headphones for interpretation will be charged.

The event is organized by Kruh in cooperation with the National Gallery under the auspices of the Czech Chamber of Architects. The project is supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, State Fund for Culture of the Czech Republic, Capital City of Prague, Foundation of Czech Architecture, Slovak Institute in Prague, Laufen CZ, a.s., Sipral a. s., MDA Prague s. r. o., MY DVA group a.s.

Media partners: Radio 1, Radio Wave, ERA21, archiweb.cz, Earch, the magazine Stavba, Material Times.