Interview with Pavel Chládek

Was architecture a clear choice in your family, or did you also consider studying another field?
In my youth, my ideas leaned more towards an artistic path, as my grandfather was a painter, but by the time I was in high school, architecture was already a clear choice. My father and both uncles were architects, so the topic was always on the table in our family.

When you were growing up, the city was called Gottwaldov and the Baťa family was taboo. Did you perceive any legacy of this interwar period?
It was hard not to perceive it. My grandfather illustrated the books of Hanzelka and Zikmund, who were forbidden by the regime at the time, which also reflected in our family's environment, which nostalgically returned to the past. One can probably sense the strength of the quickly created city during the interwar period here. There is a strong patriotism among us.
(editor's note - Hanzelka and Zikmund had two family houses built near each other in Nivy by architect Zdeněk Plesník, with whom Pavel Chládek's father worked. Miroslav Zikmund had Plesník remodel a functionalist villa from the mid-1930s in 1953, and Jiří Hanzelka had Plesník finish a new family house in 1956, which this traveler only lived in for three years.)
 
A city that grew from a strong idea also defines contemporary creation. The traditional Baťa blocks can be considered the precursors of minimalistic designs that are now emerging in Zlín.
In both cases, asceticism manifests itself. However, it is a question of whether it is an inherent trait or whether a person identifies with this attitude through gradual observation.

Could one say that you were shaped more by place and city than by school itself?
It's hard to say which of these aspects leaves a greater impact on a person. I often catch myself creating something, but later realize that it references something I have already seen as an image that memories have left behind, which I then transform later. However, I have never fully developed this thought.
For example, when we were finishing the library for the Zlín publisher, I had two mottos. On one hand, I thought of the song "Tower of Song" by Leonard Cohen, which I translated into “The Tower of Books.” At the same time, I remembered my stay in the Netherlands, where I saw Rembrandt's painting "Woman Reading the Bible" at the Rijksmuseum, where a woman sits in half-light and the detail is focused on her hand on the book. I then built my proposal on these two sources of inspiration that reached back several years. You see something, read it, and all that gradually imprints into your work.

At some point, the burden fell on you to take over the practice from your father.
My father never had a large office. At that time, we each had our own projects. However, we worked together on larger contracts, such as regulatory plans. So it cannot be said that I received mentoring advice and took over the practice, but rather I drew inspiration from conversations and the opportunity to be close to my father and observe his way of working. The professional burden came right with the first commission when I felt the responsibility and realized that it was on a clean slate and for finances.

In your lecture in Brno (May 17, 2016, FA VUT), you revealed another layer of your work. Most people associate it with the functional composition of blocks, but you then showed your frequent collaboration with artists.
My grandfather was a painter, and my cousin is a writer. My parents collected art, so we visited artistic studios, which felt natural to me. Also, many friends I grew up with in Zlín decided to study art. Therefore, whenever an opportunity arises, I like to invite artists to collaborate, who help push the project further. So far, I've always had only positive and refreshing experiences.

You also very much enjoy working with topography. From the limits and constraints of places, you create the advantages of your designs, resulting in unique solutions. You handle the slopes of Zlín better than Gahura.
It is a local specificity. In Zlín, opportunities to design a house on flat ground rarely arise. One can beautifully benefit from these limitations. I perceive each of my houses as a response to a place, which is always specific, sometimes even unfavorable, which then translates into the final form.

Can it be claimed that the terrain demands it itself?
Sometimes the plot permits a simpler shape; at other times, we must distribute the object into more volumes. It’s about capturing the place. Sometimes the conditions are favorable and the terrain does not need to be modified. Other times, we can help accentuate the character of the entire place with minor terrain modifications.

Can you be perceived as a Zlín patriot whose work is closely tied to the region? It certainly has its burdens and advantages. Would you like to expand somewhere else, or are you satisfied in this regional city?
I completed a year of compulsory practice while in school in the Netherlands. Initially, I wanted to stay there and finish my studies. In the end, I returned to Brno to finish school as quickly as possible and set off for Europe again. Immediately after graduation, I began designing a family house in Zlín, hoping to earn enough for a journey abroad. Apart from foreign practice, I have not worked in any other studio. Over time, I realized that working in Zlín fulfilled me, and I wanted to use my patriotism to positively influence the surroundings. I see my place here. It is good to work where one feels a strong connection.

You mainly design family houses for enlightened clients, which can only affect a small number of families. The resulting impact thus affects a very narrow circle, while the majority remains untouched. Would you not feel inclined to build a house that a larger number of people could experience? In the past, you realized a public underpass.
When an architect is starting, they always find it easier to get to a private investor and commission a family home, where clients have the courage to approach someone young who does not yet have any references.
Initially, family houses made up a significant part of our work. Recently, we are dealing with larger contracts. A family house is an intimate affair. When you design a structure for a city, you naturally reach a broader audience. However, rather than scale and scope, I am more interested in quality. I would rather design a family house and collaborate with a client who has chosen us than to realize a city block filled with compromises. More than anything, the question of for whom and with whom is definitely more important to me.

What is the current situation from your perspective? Public spaces are being reconstructed, historical buildings are being renovated. Is Zlín heading in a good direction?
Positive steps have been the reconstructions of the public spaces in the center arising from architectural competitions in 2011. Today's approach to public procurement in Zlín is returning to the original established paths based on subjective selection methods without professional guarantees, which does not seem to me to be a good path. However, I believe that the city will ultimately follow the path of competitions, which I consider the only possible approach.

Do you have a favorite place in Zlín with a personal connection that ordinary visitors usually do not visit?
It is not directly in Zlín, but it can pleasantly refresh someone. I recommend heading to Kudlov, where just above Gahura's villa is a brick chapel by the same author. Gahura did not want to be available to Baťa 24 hours a day, so he moved to Kudlov. His villa is completely atypical for Zlín's functionalism, and his chapel is charming. The entrance staircase nearly reaches the road. These small gems bring me joy.

Your work bears a certain signature. Similar principles can be traced. How do you proceed when designing houses? Do you have established habits or universal rules?
We have become accustomed to utilizing the broadest spectrum of means to arrive at the final design. Therefore, we do not settle for just visualizations, but for all projects, we create physical models throughout the entire process that better materialize the building. Initially, we used smaller scale models, but we soon realized they were just small boxes on which one could admire their cuteness, but the telling value was not convincing. Therefore, we quickly switched to a scale of 1:50, where volumes can be treated in a more architectural manner. When a project demands it, we can also make larger models, which help us to shape interiors, solve details, simulate materials, and light conditions. We also strive to sketch as much as possible. The quick and direct connection between paper, hand, and brain is unique.

Alongside your private practice, you have begun a doctoral study. I understand the need for lifelong learning, but how do you view science in architecture?
A few years after school, we founded the civic association aArchitektura in Zlín and began organizing informative lectures. Later, Pavel Jungmann joined us with the book edition aArchitektura. After a while, I withdrew from the association and tried to return to the academic ground, but theoretical work is not on my agenda. I prefer to materialize ideas directly into buildings and then clear my head in nature.