Kamil Mrva Architects 1999-2024 - presentation of the publication
Last weekend, the Moravian-Silesian metropolis was carried on the musical waves of the Colours of Ostrava festival at the DOV area. At the same time, on Saturday, July 20, 2024, a celebration of the life jubilee of the Kopřivnice patriot Kamil Mrva took place at the Černá louka in the building of the Faculty of Arts of the Ostrava University, combined with the presentation of a substantial publication that maps the impressive work of his studio over the past quarter-century on its 560 pages. The book was compiled for the Kant publishing house by journalist Petr Volf, who has long been dedicated to authors operating outside traditional centers, which Kamil Mrva perfectly exemplifies and serves as a model for other architects to return to their homeland after graduation and help improve the level of architectural culture in the regions. In addition to a multitude of congratulators, a concert by a string trio, a performance by Trojanovice mayor Jiří Novotný, and a lecture by Petr Volf, the Saturday evening was also prepared for the premiere of the film The Man Who Planted Houses. On the upper floors of the Ostrava Faculty of Arts, the existing work of the Kamil Mrva Architects studio was comprehensively presented on seventy panels, which has gained a respected position among residents, representatives, heritage protectors, and nature conservationists through patient and consistent work in the Beskydy-Valašsko region.
After an internship in the Prague studio GAMA (1996-97) and graduating from the Brno FA VUT (1998), Kamil returned to Kopřivnice, where he first began constructing his own studio with living quarters in his grandfather's garden and subsequently started to reclaim the surrounding area. Over twenty-five years in the Beskydy region, he has completed dozens of projects while also organizing student workshops, which have produced many interesting proposals. Rather than being compared to the Litomyšl showcase of Czech architecture, Kamil Mrva's activities can be likened to the work of Luigi Snozzi, who determined the shape of the Ticino village of Monte Carasso since 1977, or even more aptly to Gion A. Caminada, who became the chief architect of several municipalities in the forgotten Lumnezia valley in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, which faced serious depopulation threats thirty years ago and is now a sought-after tourist destination. If we were to refer to a Czech creator, the folkloric architect Dušan Jurkovič held the view more than a hundred years ago that "a work should grow out of its time and be obedient to its time", which Kamil Mrva continues to fulfill even today.
Kamil Mrva is a great admirer of the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who created more than a thousand designs over his seventy-year professional career. Similarly, the work of Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza has matured, who celebrated his ninetieth birthday last year and simultaneously completed several impressive projects. From this perspective, Kamil Mrva is still at the beginning of his journey. From the editorial office of Archiweb, we wish him much energy in the coming decades. The book Kamil Mrva Architects 1999-2024 will hit the shelves at the end of the summer holidays.
Next weekend, the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště will also celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. This kind of summer seems rather fortunate to us.
Synopsis of the publication from KANT publishing house:
The monograph, published on the occasion of Kamil Mrva's fiftieth birthday, presents an extensive body of work that has developed over a quarter-century. The buildings of this successful architect primarily appear in the Beskydy area: they demonstrate that it is possible to live in harmony with the landscape and tradition while not giving up contemporary lifestyle. "In this respect, Kamil Mrva was undoubtedly a pioneer of a new, very empathetic approach to architecture," notes the writer Petr Volf. Special attention in the book is paid to his work for Trojanovice, which, according to the jury of the Architect for the Community 2023 competition, may "remind one of the Wallachian equivalent of the Swiss village of Vrin, where also the only architect, Gion Caminada, has long cared for one remote mountain village independently and at a global level". It is hard to find an architect who has so positively influenced the form of family houses, as well as schools, sports facilities, shops, tourist centers, as well as industrial buildings and public spaces, as Kamil Mrva has managed to do in the twenty-first century. His work can be found in rural areas, cities, and metropolises such as Ostrava, Brno, or Prague - and alongside the Czech Republic also in Slovakia or Poland. Thus, a regional architect has gradually achieved a supranational, even international significance, and inspires a new generation of architects with his comprehensive approach.
After an internship in the Prague studio GAMA (1996-97) and graduating from the Brno FA VUT (1998), Kamil returned to Kopřivnice, where he first began constructing his own studio with living quarters in his grandfather's garden and subsequently started to reclaim the surrounding area. Over twenty-five years in the Beskydy region, he has completed dozens of projects while also organizing student workshops, which have produced many interesting proposals. Rather than being compared to the Litomyšl showcase of Czech architecture, Kamil Mrva's activities can be likened to the work of Luigi Snozzi, who determined the shape of the Ticino village of Monte Carasso since 1977, or even more aptly to Gion A. Caminada, who became the chief architect of several municipalities in the forgotten Lumnezia valley in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, which faced serious depopulation threats thirty years ago and is now a sought-after tourist destination. If we were to refer to a Czech creator, the folkloric architect Dušan Jurkovič held the view more than a hundred years ago that "a work should grow out of its time and be obedient to its time", which Kamil Mrva continues to fulfill even today.
Kamil Mrva is a great admirer of the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who created more than a thousand designs over his seventy-year professional career. Similarly, the work of Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza has matured, who celebrated his ninetieth birthday last year and simultaneously completed several impressive projects. From this perspective, Kamil Mrva is still at the beginning of his journey. From the editorial office of Archiweb, we wish him much energy in the coming decades. The book Kamil Mrva Architects 1999-2024 will hit the shelves at the end of the summer holidays.
Next weekend, the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště will also celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. This kind of summer seems rather fortunate to us.
Synopsis of the publication from KANT publishing house:
The monograph, published on the occasion of Kamil Mrva's fiftieth birthday, presents an extensive body of work that has developed over a quarter-century. The buildings of this successful architect primarily appear in the Beskydy area: they demonstrate that it is possible to live in harmony with the landscape and tradition while not giving up contemporary lifestyle. "In this respect, Kamil Mrva was undoubtedly a pioneer of a new, very empathetic approach to architecture," notes the writer Petr Volf. Special attention in the book is paid to his work for Trojanovice, which, according to the jury of the Architect for the Community 2023 competition, may "remind one of the Wallachian equivalent of the Swiss village of Vrin, where also the only architect, Gion Caminada, has long cared for one remote mountain village independently and at a global level". It is hard to find an architect who has so positively influenced the form of family houses, as well as schools, sports facilities, shops, tourist centers, as well as industrial buildings and public spaces, as Kamil Mrva has managed to do in the twenty-first century. His work can be found in rural areas, cities, and metropolises such as Ostrava, Brno, or Prague - and alongside the Czech Republic also in Slovakia or Poland. Thus, a regional architect has gradually achieved a supranational, even international significance, and inspires a new generation of architects with his comprehensive approach.
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
0 comments
add comment
