Robert Konieczny: Tailored Spaces - Lecture and Exhibition Opening

At the beginning of May, a prominent figure in European architecture, Robert Konieczny, will arrive in Brno, where on May 9, 2017, he will open the exhibition ROBERT KONIECZNY – SPACES TAILORED TO MEASURE at the Architecture Gallery Brno. The exhibition will showcase a cross-section of the work of his studio KWK PROMES, which he founded in 1999 with his colleague Marlene Wolnik and which he has been leading alone since 2005 in Katowice, Poland.
The opening of the exhibition will be preceded by a lecture by Robert Konieczny, which will take place on May 9, 2017, at 3:00 PM in hall A310 at the Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology, Poříčí 5.
Robert Konieczny has received numerous awards for his houses, and his work rightly garners media attention as examples of high-quality contemporary architecture. Eleven of his buildings have been nominated for the European Mies van der Rohe Award for Architecture, and at the turn of the year, he captured public attention worldwide with his house ARCHA in the Polish Beskids, which was declared the best house in the world in 2017 by the esteemed magazine Wallpaper.
“Unlike many of his colleagues, Konieczny is against excessive aestheticization of architecture. What he strives for most in his designs is the creation of logical spaces. The essence of design for him is not just the mere assembly of functions into a prepared framework, but working on a concept that entails searching for rational spatial solutions, suitable forms and functions, and last but not least, the use of appropriate materials.” states Gabriel Kurtis, director of the gallery, outlining the principles of architect Konieczny's work.
The timelessness of Konieczny's projects arises from the logic with which they are conceived. The initial concept is always a response to a specific brief from clients, yet it does not lose the architect's own vision and idea of how to create quality architecture. Specific requirements, such as ensuring maximum privacy (Safe House), a representative entrance for an art collector (Aautofamily house), or a living space where the boundaries between interior and exterior blur (Living-Garden House), serve as impulses for Konieczny to transform established typologies. He draws inspiration from them, plays with them, and often completely redefines them, with each of his houses creating a new typology in itself.
However, Robert Konieczny does not limit his projects solely to individual housing. His latest realization – the Center for Dialogue Przelomy in Szczecin, Poland, which received the prestigious World Building Of The Year 2016 award, is proof that the principles of logical space work, the search for atypical solutions, and the use of modern technologies can be applied just as well to larger-scale projects. The museum, which is also a valuable public space, demonstrates the architect's sensitive perception of urbanism. Robert Konieczny proves even beyond borders that quality architecture can be done in the small region of Upper Silesia.
The retrospective exhibition was prepared by the Architecture Gallery Brno, and after its premiere, it will tour Czech and European galleries. The exhibition is part of the Archikultura 2017 festival, organized by the Ostrava Cabinet of Architecture.

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