cosa.cz & m2au: Non-hierarchical collectives in architecture?

Space for engaged architecture, under the Faculty of Architecture VUT in Brno, invites you to a discussion on the (non)functioning of architects in non-hierarchical collectives. Together with Barbora Šimonová, Markéta Mráčková (Cultural cooperative cosa.cz), Linda Obršálová, and David Helešic (m2au), we will talk about their visions of practicing architecture, why they decided to establish a studio as a cooperative or company, and what such a setting (does not) enable them to do. The event will take place on Monday, December 19, 2022, from 5:30 PM at the Gallery of Architecture Brno, as part of the accompanying program of the exhibition Dear Architects… — Architecture as Work.
Markéta Mráčková and Barbora Šimonová became acquainted at the Emil Přikryl School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, and have been working together as an author duo since 2013. They founded the cultural cooperative cosa.cz in 2016 to cover their diverse activities – architecture, visual arts, literature, and video.
m2au [mɲaʊ̯] is a “creative cluster” of architects, established in 2016 in Brno by classmates and friends from the Brno Faculty of Architecture. From the beginning, they rejected the model of a studio “led by a genius architect,” which is also why their studio is not named after the managing director of the company. However, they established a “classic s.r.o.” and hierarchical relationships arise between the founder and other workers. David Helešic and Linda Obršálová will explain what led them to such a model and how it functions.
The project was created in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture VUT in Brno and with financial support from the statutory city of Brno, the Ministry of Culture, and the Czech Architecture Foundation.