DO SMART SCHOOL

Your professional life is extremely busy. What motivated you to pursue the position of dean?
It actually arose from circumstances. I've always had a tendency towards teaching: right after graduating from the faculty in Brno, but actually even long before that; for example, in a nine-year school, I led painting clubs for seniors in Boskovice... I taught for a while at the Brno faculty as well. However, this period didn't last very long. But to return to the question: I didn't really pursue this position, much less strategized about it. However, it is true that during Bořek Šípek's term as dean, I thought about this possibility quite a bit. Perhaps because for my ideas, the Liberec faculty represents literally ultra-fertile ground.

Could you elaborate on these thoughts?
First of all, I always aim for students to perceive the overlaps of architecture. They don't just have to sit and draw buildings, which in the end most won't do in practice. Therefore, we invite personalities from non-architectural fields to the school as well. Federico Díaz, Rony Plesl, Aleš Najbrt, textile designer Denisa Nová, Daniel Piršt, and others; all of them should express what architecture means to them or how they could collaborate with architects.
What further binds me to Liberec is the creative environment. The spirit of creativity in Sial certainly plays a role here. But the space where teaching takes place also helps. Teaching in Liberec occurs concentrated in a common hall, which quickly spreads anything that is invented or said significantly. But conversely: it happens that if a student receives poor critiques – everyone finds out immediately, and fifty colleagues come to listen. When a significant figure has a lecture, everyone shows up – every last student: all four hundred. The school lives with one spirit.



On the Liberec faculty portal, you are quoted as saying that you would like to establish your “signature” at the Liberec faculty in your role as dean. Does that not mean that you intend to influence the teaching staff with your vision…
I may have been misunderstood. It is rather the opposite. Currently, everyone in all six studios does everything. Personally, however, I want to strive for a clearer profiling. Each studio head should characterize their direction. I’ll provide an example: for instance, Antonín Novák focuses on ecological architecture, so I would like him to deepen and expand this direction – including cooperation with other schools. My studio focuses on the baroque landscape or devastated historic centers, Jewish ghettos with overlaps into architectural and urban planning concepts… My colleague Klokočka along with Martin Hejl will focus on urbanism... etc. But it shouldn’t be about dogma. In any case, studio heads should assert themselves as personalities, so to speak, at full throttle. And I will also demand that students fully utilize their imagination – we should simply create together and, above all, find joy in architecture. When students come to school, they are terribly constrained. But for the school to make sense, it must be passionate.

Bořek Šípek served as dean for two terms. What would you like to build on from his legacy as dean?
Šípek certainly elevated the prestige of the entire school with his name. Of course, I find myself in a different situation and I see architecture differently.... I would formulate my initial steps in the position rather more generally, namely by reinforcing order. This should replace certain traces of inertia with which the school was moving forward. As for the first concrete steps, they will lead to opening the faculty to the abroad. I’m not talking about Leonardo or Erasmus, nor am I thinking about the occasional hosting of a colleague – an exile working abroad. But I’m considering deeper cooperation between faculties. That’s why I also established the position of vice-dean for foreign affairs. And I also want to strengthen the PR segment... And further: my other operational decisions are related to this. For example, improving the faculty's website. Or unifying the school’s graphics, including business cards, letterheads, etc. A new feature is the bulletin we want to publish at the end of every other semester. It will not only report on school events but also on the history of the faculty and besides that, on Liberec graduates. Because a good graduate is the greatest wealth of any school. At present, it is often not even known which successful architect went through Liberec... We should contact the graduates and consult with them. But mainly we should take care of them. And beside all that, we want to improve student facilities – for example by expanding the model shop.

You mention abroad. But this term generally represents a wide notion...
I would almost say abroad without limitations. I would certainly like to strengthen information about happenings at non-European schools, especially in third countries. I mean, for example, India, China, Chile, Mexico... You can find stunning buildings everywhere there. This does not mean that we do not intend to utilize the contacts of our educators in Europe, such as in Norway or Portugal, Denmark, but also Turkey, etc. From a broader perspective, it should be about a more emphatic opening of the school: sending students out but also receiving interested parties from abroad.



How do you perceive the standing of the Liberec faculty among other schools in the Czech Republic?
Sometimes it is said that it is a little school… In my opinion, this is a significant advantage. In terms of orientation, I would say that it is similar to Umprum and the Academy. I know both schools; I habilitated at the Academy, and I defended my professorship at Umprum. In Liberec, we are about pure architecture: I don't want to say artistic because we emphasize the technical side – so that architecture is not some chimera but can be realized. If I wanted to be more precise, I would say that in Liberec we deal with pure beauty in an architectural sense.

Can you imagine the ideal school?
In my opinion, it could be a small studio led by a significant architect who sets an example for students. Something like a master studio. That's why we also support students to try to get experience in a significant studio... And practice is also important, such as a half-semester, preferably directly on a construction site.
Therefore, I am ultimately interested in whether graduates are able to support themselves. Especially those ultra-skilled – if they will use their talent and focus. Or whether it breaks them. Because the pressure is immense, and those buildings we care about, nobody wants.

Where do you see the causes, or what is it due to?
Perhaps because the visual arts are a step ahead, and architecture is closely following; or it is going its own way. But its vocabulary is not yet sufficiently readable.

Many discussions about the teaching of the field ultimately always lead to the polarity between craftsmanship and creativity. What do you personally emphasize?
The result of an architect's work should be a building. Or a certain creation of a material nature. Students' efforts must not end up as something that gets shoved into a drawer, which is why physical work, model-making, or construction is very important. The relationship with technology is fundamental for me. Similar thinking has left its mark in Liberec, for instance, with Martin Rajniš. In this context, I see the strength of Liberec – at other faculties these components are inconspicuous...
For me, an architect is an artist and simultaneously a technician. And both sides must be balanced.

Allow me to digress: do you fondly remember any of your teachers?
I probably shouldn’t say this, but I didn't attend the faculty much. Of course, it was a different time. The only one who advised me and treated me almost like a father was Makovecz. I saw him every year. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. So I was pretty much self-taught. I leafed through books. I mainly studied floor plans, that was the best school for me. For example, from Aalto. Complicated, spatial puzzles. Or from Wright.
The school has a function as a lighter. A year of practice often gives a student more than the entire study. This is what many students tell me. And I consider it a significant signal… Possibly that they are not getting a complete service.

We talked about the ideal school. And what about the ideal teacher?
It can also be a non-architect. Because someone who does not practice can also understand architecture. Everything hinges on personality. As an example, I would mention John Hejduk. He didn't build many buildings. He sacrificed his professional career to the school. And he nurtured a generation of top architects. Similarly, Kenneth Frampton. He built perhaps one house in London… He teaches the subject of Le Corbusier. And he has a packed studio.



In a certain way, every architectural realization can be seen as a school. Not only for the surroundings but also for the author himself…
Certainly. That’s why I sometimes show students the defects in my buildings: what went wrong, where it leaks.... Recently, I introduced two projects and one realization in Rožnov – from which I am quite unhappy. The lecture reportedly received quite a decent response – perhaps because I revealed true situations. They were various types of shortcomings. Specifically, one client owes me because he did not identify with the building. He is making up various things so he doesn't have to pay for the interior delivery. The matter is with a lawyer.
In the second case, it is about an apartment building: The Face House in the Agnes Monastery. For several years we have been trying to build it; we have all the permits, including from the conservationists, but one person keeps appealing and blocking the investor’s land. You do everything, you come up with a solution without compromises, you obtain all permits – but in the end, one irreconcilable citizen cancels the building for you... Students must reckon with the fact that the profession is demanding and can psychologically affect a person...

And the third case?
Many years ago I designed a church in Lesná. And we also have a zoning decision. However, the bishopric recently announced a competition for this church... Moreover, according to the chamber, it is irregular. What more to add?

Currently, we are experiencing an economic downturn. What influence does it have on the teaching of the field? Is there any didactic lesson – when there is less money in the construction market?
The crisis is, in my opinion, a law-like situation that symbolizes the belief that we cannot indefinitely promote consumption. So here I see primarily a raised finger. In architecture, when there is less work, buildings should be more sophisticated... Good architecture should be frugal architecture. And definitely smarter.
To create a smart school, that’s what it’s about. The Liberec faculty is smaller, and every – even small change manifests immediately. Personally, I've established my Tuesdays when anyone can come to me once a month with any problem. A student but also a teacher. We will see – after those four years, it will show whether the Liberec faculty will be smarter...

Is there not too many architecture students – and thus architects – in the Czech Republic?
In Liberec, I perceive this problem quite differently. For our school, Liberec is a small city. Most come here from elsewhere, half from Prague... Therefore, we will also seek the possibility of organizing workshops and other forms of teaching outside of Liberec, specifically in Prague.

Nevertheless, how do you view the clear oversupply of architects in the job market?
Schools truly churn out five times the number that can sustain themselves. But from another perspective, there are not many. There are few quality buildings. Everyone prefers to build a house without an architect. There are many architects but little architecture. I tell students that they must start with the little things; they cannot immediately start building large houses. Some have this opportunity – but they were born in a golden cradle.

Does the faculty reflect what is happening in Liberec from the architectural and urban planning perspective?
So far, I have not initiated this step, although we know the city is urbanistically quite damaged. At the school, of course, Liberec topics are also processed – even though it is true that the faculty itself is more active in this regard. Currently, contacts with construction and development companies are being established for this reason.

At the beginning of the interview, you mentioned the legacy of creativity of the Liberec SIAL. How do you perceive its mechanistic expression in this context?
In my opinion, everything is overshadowed by Ještěd. Both by its artistry and its relationship to the landscape. That’s why we have its silhouette in the logo. By the way, next year Hubáček will turn ninety. And even though he didn't participate significantly in establishing the faculty as the spiritual father of SIAL, we will rename our hall to the Aula Karel Hubáček.

Thank you for the interview.
Jiří Horský

Persian / Invisible Tower, 2012 – Students from FUA TUL Miroslav Kukrál, Alena Javorská, Dana Nováková, and Adam Lukačovič contributed to the development and realization of both variants of the tower, including its graphic design and photographic documentation. They also participate in other concepts of the Fránek architects office, in the preparation and realization of exhibitions at the House of Art in Brno and in the Gallery of the City of Litomyšl, and have been long-term collaborators in the preparation and realization of additional concepts, catalogs, graphics, and photography. (Photos by Petr Polák and Dana Nováková.)