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With Tereza Komárková not only about success and one library
Library of Martin Kabátník in Litomyšl (school project, studio: prof. Ing. arch. Zdeněk Fránek, Ing. arch. Radek Suchánek, PhD.)
“The existing library in the former town hall building right in the center of Litomyšl on Smetanovo Square is in very unsatisfactory technical and operational condition. I am moving it to a new location, which I propose according to its needs.
The plot with houses at the southern end of Smetanovo Square has been closed to the public for several decades, although this was not the case in the past. A path used to lead through here. It is different from the other narrow plots in the square with its expanded courtyard nestled between two buildings - the House U Medvěda toward the square and the armory building toward the river. The way the plot widens creates an interesting inner space. The use of this site, its passages between buildings, and the houses themselves provide an opportunity to reconnect the square with Bělidly and the bus station. Opening up the site and the building has become a fundamental idea. Thus, the library is not just a destination, but part of the everyday journey to other destinations.
The design retains the house of the former rifle factory and the House U Medvěda, which I am reconstructing, connecting, and unifying with the new building. The most important part of the library from the visitor's perspective is located in the new house encircling the atrium. The new is revealed, the old is preserved.
In contrast to the exposed bricks on the facades of the existing buildings, I insert a new building, which creates an internally organically shaped space of a hidden garden in the heart of the city. The new structure is supported by the surrounding walls on the edges of the plot and a system of ribbed reinforced concrete columns tapering toward the atrium. These centrally arranged columns bear the first floor of the new building. The monolithic roof with steel cable reinforcements is suspended from four farthest corners and slopes inward toward the center of the atrium. The load-bearing systems of the walls of the armory building and the House U Medvěda are preserved only with modifications to the layout to accommodate the new function of the building and the operation of the library. The space is divided into several functional zones to ensure that the paths of visitors, employees, and the “path of the book” do not intersect.”
Whom do you draw inspiration from, who is architecturally close to you?
“At the time of the school project for the library, it was minimalism, whose simple forms were an attractive source of inspiration. The calm of the buildings of John Pawson, SANAA, Peter Zumthor, Souto de Moura, and Toyo Ito is significantly different from the Czech scene, which I liked in the structure of Litomyšl. I am a fan of Terunobu Fujimori, who realized his first house only at the age of forty. Having plenty of time to consider everything and knowing what one wants from the quality of architecture is very enviable.”
What about the Czech architectural scene? What newer building do you like?
“Among the newer ones, I was immediately pleased by the revitalization of the Bastion at Boží muk by MCA during my first visit. The strongest impression left on me was the Galerie Benedikta Rejta.”
What is Zdeněk Fránek like as a thesis supervisor?
“After four semesters in his studio, I appreciate his quick judgment, which can support an idea with potential. When I wasn’t sure how to express the library, I put together a special collage of feelings from the internal space, which at that moment was more eloquent than dozens of drawings. Zdeněk Fránek was a great support for me during my bachelor’s thesis.”
What prompted you to submit this work to YAA?
“I love this project first and foremost, and when reading the competition conditions, I realized it was tailor-made for it. The project itself is older and was once awarded within the Ještěd f kleci at the TU Liberec.”
How would you evaluate architectural competitions in the Czech Republic? Are there many or few?
“Competitions, in general, are a great thing. They provide a meeting of different approaches and ideas on a defined topic, serving as fertile ground for comparison, discussion, and understanding different perspectives. There are many student competitions around; it’s enough to have the time and desire for them. However, there is a problem with architectural competitions regarding their insufficient number. The lack of quality in new public buildings in our country is a sad testament to trade competitions, which outnumber architectural ones.”
What would you change or adjust in the study of architecture/ way of teaching? You are finishing, so you have an overview.
“For me, the ideal state is a high degree of freedom, a wide range of educational options to choose from, and an individual approach. A necessary part of functioning education is the personal passion of the student, which is natural when you enjoy architecture. I wish for Czech schools of architecture that would compete with the best in the world.”
How do you think the lay public perceives architecture? If anything should change, what would it be?
“Although architecture is a part of everyone’s life, there is an overwhelming number of those who are not interested in it. Many people have prejudices about architecture. Given that we navigate public spaces daily, I think we should demand a higher quality of it, regardless of whether we are architects or not.”
Your professional wish for the future.
“In the near future, that would be studying outside the borders of Europe.”
I wish that your journeys around the world bring more than you expect and that you continue to have great success.
Tereza Komárková
25.10.1988, from Kutná Hora
Jiří Orten Gymnasium, Kutná Hora (maturity exam 2008)
TUL - FUA, field of Architecture and Urbanism (full-time bachelor studies, 2008/2012)
Czech Technical University in Prague, field of Architecture and Urbanism (full-time master's program, since 2012)
Aurora Borealis Observatory in Finland (bachelor's thesis, studio: prof. Ing. arch. Zdeněk Fránek, Ing. arch. Radek Suchánek, PhD.)
A house like a frozen cube of the northern lights observatory in the middle of a Finnish forest. The path up the stairs culminates around a restaurant, gallery, planetarium, and sauna to a walkable roof above the treetops, from which the conditions for observation are best. A view down into the insides of the building offers reflections in the metallic-gloss atrium. The deepest place in the basement and the view upward from it are also the most important moment for newcomers.
Tea Houses from Hunting Stands (short assignment)
Instead of designing new hunting stands, I contemplated what to do with the existing ones. Hunting stands are the most common buildings in the Czech Republic after family houses. The intention is to transform hunting stands into nature observation points.
PUMA Social Store (interior design with architects Edit!)
From the winning competition design to the realization of the interior. The inspiration was the principle of chain mining locker rooms, where clothes are hung in simplicity. The interior is therefore variable and is supposed to function as a showroom and café during the day; in the evening, it is possible to lift the presented items up and free space for social events.
Observation Tower on Hell Hill (competition project, 2nd-3rd place, studio: Ing. arch. akad. arch. Jan Hendrych, Ing. arch. Jiří Janďourek)
The idea of an extraordinary experience from the climb itself. The path up the stairs is a viewpoint. The opportunity to stop, rest, and look into the treetops.
“The existing library in the former town hall building right in the center of Litomyšl on Smetanovo Square is in very unsatisfactory technical and operational condition. I am moving it to a new location, which I propose according to its needs.
The plot with houses at the southern end of Smetanovo Square has been closed to the public for several decades, although this was not the case in the past. A path used to lead through here. It is different from the other narrow plots in the square with its expanded courtyard nestled between two buildings - the House U Medvěda toward the square and the armory building toward the river. The way the plot widens creates an interesting inner space. The use of this site, its passages between buildings, and the houses themselves provide an opportunity to reconnect the square with Bělidly and the bus station. Opening up the site and the building has become a fundamental idea. Thus, the library is not just a destination, but part of the everyday journey to other destinations.
The design retains the house of the former rifle factory and the House U Medvěda, which I am reconstructing, connecting, and unifying with the new building. The most important part of the library from the visitor's perspective is located in the new house encircling the atrium. The new is revealed, the old is preserved.
In contrast to the exposed bricks on the facades of the existing buildings, I insert a new building, which creates an internally organically shaped space of a hidden garden in the heart of the city. The new structure is supported by the surrounding walls on the edges of the plot and a system of ribbed reinforced concrete columns tapering toward the atrium. These centrally arranged columns bear the first floor of the new building. The monolithic roof with steel cable reinforcements is suspended from four farthest corners and slopes inward toward the center of the atrium. The load-bearing systems of the walls of the armory building and the House U Medvěda are preserved only with modifications to the layout to accommodate the new function of the building and the operation of the library. The space is divided into several functional zones to ensure that the paths of visitors, employees, and the “path of the book” do not intersect.”
Whom do you draw inspiration from, who is architecturally close to you?
“At the time of the school project for the library, it was minimalism, whose simple forms were an attractive source of inspiration. The calm of the buildings of John Pawson, SANAA, Peter Zumthor, Souto de Moura, and Toyo Ito is significantly different from the Czech scene, which I liked in the structure of Litomyšl. I am a fan of Terunobu Fujimori, who realized his first house only at the age of forty. Having plenty of time to consider everything and knowing what one wants from the quality of architecture is very enviable.”
What about the Czech architectural scene? What newer building do you like?
“Among the newer ones, I was immediately pleased by the revitalization of the Bastion at Boží muk by MCA during my first visit. The strongest impression left on me was the Galerie Benedikta Rejta.”
What is Zdeněk Fránek like as a thesis supervisor?
“After four semesters in his studio, I appreciate his quick judgment, which can support an idea with potential. When I wasn’t sure how to express the library, I put together a special collage of feelings from the internal space, which at that moment was more eloquent than dozens of drawings. Zdeněk Fránek was a great support for me during my bachelor’s thesis.”
What prompted you to submit this work to YAA?
“I love this project first and foremost, and when reading the competition conditions, I realized it was tailor-made for it. The project itself is older and was once awarded within the Ještěd f kleci at the TU Liberec.”
How would you evaluate architectural competitions in the Czech Republic? Are there many or few?
“Competitions, in general, are a great thing. They provide a meeting of different approaches and ideas on a defined topic, serving as fertile ground for comparison, discussion, and understanding different perspectives. There are many student competitions around; it’s enough to have the time and desire for them. However, there is a problem with architectural competitions regarding their insufficient number. The lack of quality in new public buildings in our country is a sad testament to trade competitions, which outnumber architectural ones.”
What would you change or adjust in the study of architecture/ way of teaching? You are finishing, so you have an overview.
“For me, the ideal state is a high degree of freedom, a wide range of educational options to choose from, and an individual approach. A necessary part of functioning education is the personal passion of the student, which is natural when you enjoy architecture. I wish for Czech schools of architecture that would compete with the best in the world.”
How do you think the lay public perceives architecture? If anything should change, what would it be?
“Although architecture is a part of everyone’s life, there is an overwhelming number of those who are not interested in it. Many people have prejudices about architecture. Given that we navigate public spaces daily, I think we should demand a higher quality of it, regardless of whether we are architects or not.”
Your professional wish for the future.
“In the near future, that would be studying outside the borders of Europe.”
I wish that your journeys around the world bring more than you expect and that you continue to have great success.
 |
Tereza Komárková
Jiří Orten Gymnasium, Kutná Hora (maturity exam 2008)
TUL - FUA, field of Architecture and Urbanism (full-time bachelor studies, 2008/2012)
Czech Technical University in Prague, field of Architecture and Urbanism (full-time master's program, since 2012)
Aurora Borealis Observatory in Finland (bachelor's thesis, studio: prof. Ing. arch. Zdeněk Fránek, Ing. arch. Radek Suchánek, PhD.)
A house like a frozen cube of the northern lights observatory in the middle of a Finnish forest. The path up the stairs culminates around a restaurant, gallery, planetarium, and sauna to a walkable roof above the treetops, from which the conditions for observation are best. A view down into the insides of the building offers reflections in the metallic-gloss atrium. The deepest place in the basement and the view upward from it are also the most important moment for newcomers.
Tea Houses from Hunting Stands (short assignment)
Instead of designing new hunting stands, I contemplated what to do with the existing ones. Hunting stands are the most common buildings in the Czech Republic after family houses. The intention is to transform hunting stands into nature observation points.
PUMA Social Store (interior design with architects Edit!)
From the winning competition design to the realization of the interior. The inspiration was the principle of chain mining locker rooms, where clothes are hung in simplicity. The interior is therefore variable and is supposed to function as a showroom and café during the day; in the evening, it is possible to lift the presented items up and free space for social events.
Observation Tower on Hell Hill (competition project, 2nd-3rd place, studio: Ing. arch. akad. arch. Jan Hendrych, Ing. arch. Jiří Janďourek)
The idea of an extraordinary experience from the climb itself. The path up the stairs is a viewpoint. The opportunity to stop, rest, and look into the treetops.
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Tehdá
Jakub
11.02.20 01:29
Young Architect Award
Dr.Lusciniol
11.02.20 01:26
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