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Architecture Is a Ficus

Architecture is people, their stories, and all those little details that make our day a day. It is the backdrop of our lives, which makes about as much sense without us as an expensive coffee machine without coffee beans. Step into a world where the boundary between grand structures and human experience blurs, and where everything belongs to a single whole—from our ambitious ficus tree down to a well-deserved glass of beer at the bar... A few months ago, I wrote a short text about it for the book Translating: Architecture.

Dear Women

How do you keep your head when your old life is crumbling and your new one is only just taking shape? As an architect and a father, I came to realize that the most important thing you ever build isn't a house—it's the bond that holds you together even through absolute chaos.

Handing Over the Baton

Vimperk’s new landmark is more than just a modern hall—it is a symbol of pride in honest textile craftsmanship. For the family business VAVI, this space represents a place where tradition meets vision and a desire to connect the local community. Read the interview about the courage and plans that make this town much more than just an invoice address for the brand.

Construction Diary

How many times do I have to repeat that building a house while expecting, or with a tiny baby, is stressful? Why do I have to keep telling you over and over that you won't be living there by Christmas?

City of Dreams

When we decided to found our studio, we knew it would be in Liberec. We didn't care that there wasn't as much work here as in Prague, nor that the capital was a more prestigious address.

Swimming Pool Tales

Dark clouds were rolling in from the Lusatian Mountains. The evening air was rich with the scent of the forest, but something foretold that a serious storm was brewing. Pavel knew it. His knees always sensed in advance what was coming.

Laboratory

Imagine a world where the materials to build your home don't travel halfway across the globe. A world where you know the exact forest where the trees for your house were cut.

Nightingale Song

Our flag is trying to trap you. It refuses to be just two seconds of attention in a catalog of fleeting beauty. The digitally generated image of the treetops hides a stereographic image of happiness that a mere glance will never reveal.

Mountain of Stories

I run out of my town—it’s Friday afternoon and everything around is so calm. Raindrops fall onto the hot, dry road, and each one seems to hiss a little as it hits the ground. The summer rain merges into a monotonous psssst, as if whispering: please be still, don't think about anything right now.

In the context of the sky

Even if it doesn't look like it, freedom is hard to come by in our field. Our freedom stops once the study is handed over, giving way to an immense amount of paperwork, drawing, and project management just to make sure everything lands right.

There's got to be fun

Yeah, you gotta keep a sense of humor no matter how grim things get. I hate architect parties because they're usually boring as hell.

No such thing as defeat

We took a lot of risks on our journey, and even though they say risk equals reward, that’s not always true. It’s clear that young guys fresh out of school don’t have a clue about real life and the practice of architecture—or maybe some do, but we definitely didn’t have the slightest foggiest.

Architecture Is a Ficus

Dear Women

Handing Over the Baton

Construction Diary

City of Dreams

Swimming Pool Tales

Laboratory

Nightingale Song

Mountain of Stories

In the context of the sky

There's got to be fun

No such thing as defeat

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