Interview with Eva Jiřičná

Eva Jiřičná was born in Czechoslovakia, but has lived in London for over 30 years. Her work occupies a leading place in the field of formal and technological innovations. She is characterized by meticulously crafted design focused on detail and employing a highly modern approach to traditional materials – glass, steel, and stone. In the last ten years, Eva Jiřičná's contributions to architecture and design have been recognized with various personal honors, including being named a 'Royal Designer for Industry' (RDI), receiving the title 'Commander of the British Empire' (CBE), and being an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Eva Jiřičná represents the International Union of Architects (UIA) in the jury.

How would you overall evaluate the level of the competitive projects presented by the students?
The quality of the work was indeed very high. When you sit on the jury for student competitions, you get to know an exceptionally rich spectrum of methods through which students express themselves. Particularly in this competition organized by VELUX, different architecture schools from various countries present themselves in completely different ways.

How would you describe the role of light in contemporary architecture after participating in this jury?
Light in architecture is the most difficult discipline to understand. Of course, when you study, you have certain expectations and a rich imagination. The different experiences of light that these projects analyzed, the various aspects that students focused on were extremely interesting and diverse. Students began to look at things very closely, which means a huge benefit for the architecture of the future. In terms of light, invention is very difficult. We had the opportunity to study and discuss a large number of different ideas.

Teachers play a crucial role in this competition. What is your approach to teaching?
In my life, I have learned a lot and I always try to be a teacher who does not force her students to imitate her. I like to see myself as a teacher who encourages inquiry, experimentation, and maximizing imagination. When you study, this is the last time in your life that you work in completely unrestricted conditions: without a client, without fear of costs or building permits...

What would you do if you participated in the competition as a student?
My advice would probably be that you need to think primarily about how to communicate your idea and how to present it simply and understandably. Sometimes students want to express everything that comes to their mind and are unable to carry out the process of elimination and simplification of their message. The necessity to create a clear message is even more important in competitions: when the jury has to assess about seven hundred projects, they cannot spend much time trying to interpret what the student meant, which is always the most difficult part. So when you present your idea, do it clearly and try to make it enjoyable for the jury.

What are your feelings about sitting on this jury?
When you evaluate a student’s contribution to the competition, you imagine what you would do in a similar situation. The jury generally tries to find details that the students hadn’t even thought of! However, it is always incredibly interesting to discover how many different perspectives and viewpoints individual jurors present. Participating in this jury was a great experience. In recent years, the quality of VELUX products has significantly improved. When you use the same product over and over again, there is always some improvement. Along with development come investments in research, so the results of the final product continuously improve. In my opinion, this competition is part of this cycle. Perhaps someone at VELUX will be able to utilize some of the ideas. We as a jury were looking for some practical applications. But I am sure that some department of VELUX would probably interpret some other ideas better than we would. I believe that this competition gives young people the opportunity to present their ideas.

Did you emotionally identify with any project?
Light is an immutable aspect of our lives and as an architect, I have often dealt with it. I have worked with materials that transmit light. Therefore, I feel a very strong connection to the students who managed to reproduce the atmosphere of their idea, and some of them presented exceptionally good presentations.