SCHOOL VS. PRACTICE

Even the most significant architects – like Le Corbusier – did not graduate from any architectural school. Nevertheless, in today's society, there is a prevailing belief that a completed education is necessary for a successful career. There is also current discussion about whether to pay for it, and how much. On the contrary, you demonstrate that this need not be the case. How is it possible that a successful student, awarded for studio work, such as by Olověný Dušan, say motivated and with above-standard practical experience, one day leaves school?
David Chmelař: I didn't do math.

Like everyone else?
I kept postponing it. Maybe I could have organized my studies better. Gradually, I lost motivation to attend other lectures, and when they kept bothering me with math, one day I told myself that I didn't need it. A bit boldly, or rather foolishly, I left and somewhere inside I hoped it would work out. I took it as a consolation that the house in Dřevíč was included by Jan Jehlík in the Yearbook 2003 – 2004 and Dagmar Vernerová in the book Family Houses 1996 - 2006. Since then, my houses have appeared in about three yearbooks. And of course, I’m also happy that the authorization worked out. But the help of friends was undoubtedly extremely important. Saša Skalický or Milan Vítem. They authorized my projects, guided me, and I could learn from them on real, actual houses...
But looking back, since elementary school, my will to do architecture has been crucial. I wouldn't place so much weight on higher education itself. It all depends on the individual whether they can find and add to their mosaic what they really want to do. For most people, a diploma means that they are graduates. Not architects. I’m more of a junkie for architecture. And I always have been. From my intoxication with the field, I drew the belief that it should work out. Of course, the option, let's say the percentage, that it won't work out, that I end up somewhere at a building authority, has always been on the table.

Family house in Dřevíč, 2003

Let's stop for a moment at the math exam at Prague's ČVUT. It is a long-standing problem. Everyone interested in the field knows several people who have ended their studies at this point. Do you believe its difficulty is justified? Or did you miss math in later design work?
I didn't miss it. Today I might as well say that. But essentially I have no reason to return to this issue. Until a certain point, it was indeed a trauma. My parents were disappointed, my girlfriend too...
The most important thing in school, in my opinion, is to learn to present, to improve language skills, and to understand the history of architecture. And test the knowledge gained on studio projects. But all that excise around? To a certain extent, it's good, but mostly at ČVUT it burdens and overwhelms students. Therefore, top students can graduate who have no idea why they go to school. They just go and fill out and are exemplary students.
And in this spirit, the Department of Exact Sciences also operates at the faculty. Everything is strictly defined in a math physics way, and it can give the leadership of the faculty the impression that they are professionals who clean everything properly. However, I took math in this form only as bullying.
But I’m definitely not proud of my departure from school. It was a big risk.

However, let's return to the beginning. Compared to almost all your colleagues, you started designing very early, practically in your first year of university. You briefly worked in the Náchod studio Tsunami and then for some time on your own. Today you have your own office in Karlín, Prague. Your professional path certainly does not mirror established customs.
But I was going to the office even earlier. We really learned to draw in the Tsunami studio at the beginning – for the fact that they taught us, we helped them. The connections gradually evolved, and we went to the studio to work for the whole summer, thus earning some extra money. I worked there every summer from the first year of high school for two months; that’s where I could first design something on my own. That was a huge honor in the first year of high school. In the office, I also had the opportunity to browse through foreign architectural magazines like Architectural Review or Detail. At that time, of course, it was completely new to me. However, I had already been interested in architecture since elementary school – even though back then, of course, it was on a somewhat popular basis. I followed what was showing up on TV or in magazines about the field. I leafed through brochures that friends brought us from abroad. I was fascinated by how different the houses in them were. I wondered how they could be made. Everything around was gray back then...
I also remember the moment when I was at Prague Castle: how I was engulfed by the cultivated space that I didn't know otherwise. Jože Plečnik.

Ice Stadium in Hronov, 2002 - 2004

Let’s add that you grew up in Hronov. Do you remember what age the visit to the castle is linked to?
I don't know. I only have a vague memory in my head. I was a little child...
Then I played variously with thoughts about space. For example, I remember seeing some detective show on TV in which the sofa stretched across the whole room – and I immediately drew that. I could probably also find another three houses that I designed for myself on a piece of paper while still in the first grade of elementary school. And for my loves from that time. And Studio Kamarád also organized two competitions...

Studio Kamarád? Did you really compete as an elementary school student?
It was about My Own House and, I think, Ideal Housing Estate. I still have them stored somewhere. (laughs) As I mentioned, I continued in high school, and I went to ČVUT with the belief that all my classmates would be obsessed with the field. In the first year, I experienced insane frustration from the fact that there were people around me who knew nothing about architecture and went to university with the feeling that once they graduated, they would be hotshots.

And how did you manage to get your first commission in this situation?
I managed to get contacted by acquaintances with a project for a family house right in my first year. For the record: the then client is now my wife. So, the work was also intertwined on a personal level. And amidst all that, I also attended ZAN – the basics of architectural design... But I was quite successful. The head of the Arnošt Navrátil studio said in his evaluation of the year that we were all excellent, but one was significantly better. Concurrently with school, other interiors began to emerge, but at the same time, I continued to go to Tsunami during the summers. And when a certain exhaustion occurred, I worked one summer with Jiran with Kohout. However, to summarize this entire period, practically since 1998, my projects have been continuously running, which of course had to be authorized by someone, and the work slowly piled up. With the designers of the first house, I then worked on a larger project of starter apartments in Polici nad Metují and the ice stadium in Hronov. I almost forgot that later I also did a land development plan for them for another one hundred and fifty apartments that were to be built above our starter houses. After this phase, we started collaborating a lot with Milan Vít, with whom we met at the ice stadium, later at the square for Hronov and Kostelní Square in Broumov. And besides these main projects, suddenly around 2005, a number of family houses emerged, which are currently being completed, and some are just waiting for the finishing touches. While the large ones are long finished.

How did it happen in practice that back then, as a young student, you got involved in such a large project, which the apartment buildings in Polici undoubtedly were?
Local designers were tasked with correcting the project for a building permit because it was known to be poor. However, they could not solve the problem themselves because they were builders. And because they knew me, they asked me for help. Of course, I eagerly took on the work. And I essentially did a sort of extra plan: I basically worked there for free, I also went to control days for free...

Two houses with starter apartments in Polici nad Metují, 2002 - 2005, sketch 2002

At first, you worked alone. When did your studio come into being?
I take it that the studio Chmelař architects was created with my first commission. However, I only rented the office for the first time in 2003. That's when regular collaborators began to come in daily. Until then, we represented a kind of underground. I did everything from my apartment, with various people, according to commissions in various times and places: in Prague and in Hronov.

How many people currently work with you in the office?
Three to five, depending on the volume of commissions.

And does this size of the studio suit you?
It suits me, but I can imagine having more people. It’s my fault that I’m not completely clear on this issue. And maybe that’s why I’m not pursuing my goal as directly as I could. My ambition, however, is to build bigger and bigger houses. And it's nice that my commissions are still increasing. After all, this is the only reason I would want, say, twenty people one day. There is no other motive in it. Maybe aside from the fact that I could afford administrative staff, which would free my hands for designing...

Is there any commission you would really wish for?
The dream is a concert hall in Prague. A big dream.


PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE SPACE

Renovation of Kostelní Square in Broumov, 2005 - 2007

You have managed to realize two squares – the main one in Hronov and Kostelní in Broumov. And you are also working on other projects of a similar nature. Let’s mention the modifications around Alois Jirásek Street in Hronov or Malé Square in Broumov, where you collaborate with Alexander Skalický. In one of your reports, you used the phrase that “the square is the living room of the city.” Before we get to your own concepts of working with public space, do you recall any square that you think works correctly?
Exemplary examples of public space solutions can be found, for instance, in the Netherlands. I think of Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam by Adriaan Geuze from West 8. It features four moving lamps, somewhat like animals moving to music. I am mainly interested in stimuli. To ensure that people feel naturally in the space. As Adam Gebrian recently quoted: Public space should give the impression that it is simply mine. That it belongs to me. Returning to the question, the square, the space within the city is a living room – not a meadow or park. A living room where various social groups can organize their activities.

How is this concept transferred to a specific place?
For example, in Hronov, we intentionally paved the square rather than freeing space for greenery to allow for the organization of various events. And it works, even though Hronov is a sleepy town where people spend time in their gardens and go to the center only to shop. They are frustrated that they cannot park directly in front of the store. But their lives should create opportunities for them to meet their acquaintances on the way to the store, to stop and chat.
However, our solution also generated a wave of negative criticism. In my opinion, unjustly, of course. We prepared the space for the residents to decide for themselves how to fill it with their activities. But many are often offended that we did not make a definitive gesture with the space ourselves. There were additional voices calling for some water feature, for example. This is a kind of laziness. People are used to someone filling the space – in a physical or mental sense – for them. It's like with elections. Lots of promises to solve problems on behalf of the citizen. People have stopped perceiving that they should be interactive. That you pass the ball to them, and they can react as they wish. On the contrary, they say, how come you didn’t give us the event – the entertainment – the program. Maybe blooming flowerbeds, which they wouldn’t take care of anymore...
Recently, for example, a veteran show was held in Hronov, cars could park throughout the square and people came to watch and evaluate them. They had a reason to bond – and I consider that a wonderfully utilized square.

Revitalization of the center of Hronov, 2008 - 2009

Is low activity and seclusion a general problem of today or do you consider it a Czech specificity?
In Finland, it was beautiful to see how people, who live scattered in forests, have to put in a lot of energy just to meet. They met on purpose, and the pretexts could be completely trivial: they wanted to sing, for example, or they organized a cycling trip.

What do you attribute our laziness to? Why do you think we are so passive?
That’s not an easy question. It is generally assumed to be a legacy of communism. And there’s probably something to that. Personally, I am, for example, desperate about how incredibly people drive on the roads in today’s Czech Republic. How arrogantly they claim space for themselves. And feel superior. They don’t adapt, they’re not tolerant. The absence of decency is manifest in their behavior. And there’s also selfishness. And I am completely allergic when people are presented with the notion that they will get something for free. Absolute nonsense. Nothing is free. And if it is free, it’s of low quality.

Let’s return to the square in Hronov.
The transformation of the Main Square has changed something for people that they took as dogma. The change sparked fear, from which negative emotions grew among some residents. I believe that from measurable perspectives, however, the space underwent a positive transformation. Nonetheless, thank goodness for defined opinions. They provoke interest. If the residents were lethargic, I would consider the project poorly executed.
By the way, during the entire five years or so we presented the design to the public, the locals showed minimal interest in the modifications. Whenever they could come and express their opinion. In this context, I recalled a recent statement by Ladislav Špaček, according to which Czech society is not so much intolerant of minorities as it is lethargic towards them.

So what specifically raised concerns in Hronov? Which interventions are new in the square space?
The traffic solution of the center changed, which arose from the need to designate part of the square for a calm zone, where citizens could actively spend their time, perhaps organizing a fire brigade parade or various competitions. Where newcomers could stand and look around the city. Before the renovation, the square functioned as a roundabout intertwined with a parking lot. People could basically move only around it, and their movement was further hindered by overgrown linden trees that were planted too close to the buildings, narrowing the sidewalk. A significant change is therefore that citizens can start using their square.

One of the variants of your summer house in Hronov, 2007

The work in Hronov was originally supposed to proceed in three phases...
The idea of renovating the square was very bold from the very beginning. However, over time it became clear that the city with Hronov's budget could not renovate the entire center all at once. In the stage of the implementation documentation, we therefore divided the area into three phases, which were independent of each other and could be implemented gradually. But fortunately, Hronov ultimately received a subsidy from the European Union – for an area even slightly larger than that of our original project.

For Hronov, you are currently addressing another assignment, the surroundings of Alois Jirásek Street. How does it feel to return as an architect to the city where you have already managed to implement several projects?
Beautiful. A bit narcissistic. In Hronov, there is an ice stadium, we renovated the center, the surrounding streets, the school yard, the city’s orientation system, and we managed to renovate a restaurant in the square... The larger the area you conceive, the stronger the feeling that harmony is being created. The goal is beauty. It is about building order. That is why society needs us. Harmony is supposed to enrich people, of course. Public spaces where I can guide acquaintances, feeling like the city is beautiful, are expanding. On another occasion, I mentioned that with the length of time spent somewhere, awareness grows that the place belongs to you.
I myself grew up in Hronov, I moved away only around eighteen, my wife is also from Hronov, I regularly return to the city because our parents live there... And I also of course return due to ongoing commissions.

One of the variants of your summer house in Hronov, 2008

When we spoke earlier, you mentioned that you are looking for a plot for your summer house in the city. It is perhaps significant that you are not aiming for more exotic, distant places, but back.
The idea is, to a certain extent, my wife's. It’s a certain return, anchoring, a counterpoint to Prague, where we’ve already lived in our sixth apartment during our life together. It's also a desire to live in an environment that is close to you. Essentially, I would also like to be in the center so that I could enjoy the square – since I’ve reconstructed it. (laughs) All reflections associated with Hronov are thus to a certain extent influenced by the fact that you are creating an environment you want to inhabit yourself.

Can you elaborate on your search for a plot, in terms of the character of the place?
Obtaining a plot that does not lie between houses built on open meadow and is aesthetically unacceptable to me is indeed a problem. The plot should have an impact and something interesting. Over five years, we have seriously considered nearly twenty plots. I have a house conceptually designed for all of them, about five are even detailed. Our best plot from the current options is a significantly elevated piece of land right by the cemetery wall. It has a view of the square and is close to the center.
I am looking for a plot with historical memory. The most important for me are the tall trees. I am happy that we have tall chestnuts growing outside the windows of our Prague apartment. They confirm the memory of the place.
Behind the search in Hronov might also be the ambition of an architect to build his own house. That’s why I refuse to renovate an existing building. I would like to build the whole house. A new, my own for myself.
So far there is no plot, but the idea exists in my head. The house should be black because the interior of our apartment in Prague is white. We are already buying furnishings, I actually have doors that we removed in our new apartment – simply a full basement of things for the cottage. More precisely, for the non-existent house.


CENTER VS. PERIPHERY

We talked about how the square should generally function, and we also described the one in Hronov thoroughly. I am also interested in whether you utilized anything specific to Hronov or Broumov for that specific place? Something that would not apply in Žilina or Aš...
I always try to support the individuality of the place. It doesn’t matter whether it is the reconstruction of a house from the twenties or a square. Hronov is more rectangular, rather functionalist. One of the mayors, Bohumil Šustr, was an excellent architect. In the thirties, he built a number of urban houses, delineating the main, most direct street in the city, giving urbanism order. The city gained character. As his daughter confirmed to me, he designed his own house to be a manifesto of living. Together with his lawyer brother, he built a beautiful functionalist double house. The interior still preserves furniture from Ladislav Sutnar, the furnishings were at the highest level of the time. With this visual manifesto, he wanted to cultivate the masses. What Baba meant in Prague, he brought here to the border region, to the territory where lions gradually lived – albeit on a smaller scale – just him.
The center differs from the outskirts by being ahead. And it shows. The periphery arises from the laziness to deal with something that could be new. The fewer people on the periphery who drive the environment forward, the more the region stagnates and takes on the characteristics of a periphery.

Family house in Česká Skalice, visualization, 2008

Do you see today’s Náchod region as a periphery?
Náchod is a pure conceptual periphery. Nothing significant has happened there since the First Republic that would impact the rest of the republic.
Hronov is exceptional to me because Egon Hostovský, Josef Čapek, or Alois Jirásek were born there. At a certain time, this elite of the republic affected the town. The very awareness of this among the locals evokes a certain respect. In the pre-war years, Šustr or the current Jirásek Hronov theater festival, or the native-director Josef Špáta can, if people are open, broaden their horizons. It represents a message that apart from going to work and watching TV, other things are happening. Things we may not understand, but they are happening.
This spirit is in the town. Šustr infused it into architecture, just like another Hronov native, Jindřich Freiwald, who built the theater and savings bank in Hronov. These people raised the town to the most advanced standard of the interwar period. Since then, nothing of that level has been achieved in Hronov. We tried to refer to their work. In terms of standards, incorporating very high-quality lighting, and so on. We wanted to refer to quality. We tried to work with materials sincerely, so that no “decoration” would arise. For instance, we used granite, not cobblestones, which flooded our cities in the post-November era. Its concrete degrades much more easily and the surfaces are mostly ripe for reconstruction again. Therefore, we used quality materials that, we believe, will last another hundred years.

Your houses, especially those of recent years, are not purely rectangular. Why is the external form getting shape enrichment?
It always stems from the specific place. From completing the mosaic that is present in that location. I mean, for example, the structure of greenery or the configuration of the terrain...

Can we illustrate the process and reasoning with one of your projects? For example, an unrealized project in Česká Skalice?
It concerns a family villa for a local factory owner.

Family house in Česká Skalice, first sketch, 2008

Which sounds almost interwar.
I think the First Republic played a certain role in the owner’s decision to buy plots behind his own house. I believe he wants to refer to the beautiful Čerych villa, originally a house for the daughter of Barton from Dobenín, designed by Otakar Novotný, and build a new representative villa nearby on the lower plot. After the textile manufacturers who owned the Čerych villa bought the factory, I think that could have been a motivation as well.
The owner basically doesn’t need the house; he owns one directly in the square, but he dreams of building a villa. He even made a large model out of paper himself with his grandsons when submitting the study. Although it’s not perfect model-making work, it created a larger bond between us.
The house reacted to the unevenness of the plot in that it was inserted into the complex parcel. Like a lightning bolt that ran through the garden. And of course, it had all the functions that the builder required hidden within it. In terms of volume, it is larger than the surrounding buildings, and thus from all viewing angles, it is designed so that it appears as a one-story structure. Passersby and residents from the garden will always see only one part that looks like a light pavilion in the garden.

Do you sketch or create models when designing?
I’m lazy with models. The sketch is essential for me. The house first comes to my mind when I stand on the plot. I seek the shape from the fog of several lines.

Does that mean that there is not a clear vision of the building in your head from the very beginning?
There is, but you can't express it. You have to arrive at it through physical work. Through gradual concretization, additional drawings. You have to sit and sketch the house out.

Thank you for the interview.
Kateřina Lopatová