Jan Mach and Jan Vondrák, founders of Mjölk architecture office in Liberec, are very much influenced by the landscape around the foothills of the Jizerské Mountains and the Ještěd Ridge. They attended university there, and they still live and work there today. Their long term focus on architectural interventions in nature was predetermined by the surrounding setting. As a result, they built several lookout structures on nearby hilltops. In our interview, we discussed the ways in which architecture should enter open landscapes, how we should react when these structures cause controversy, and how generosity and joy are essential parts of the job.

Dnešní doba přeje kvalitním materiálům, které jsou i po letech zcela funkční, působí nadčasově a originálně. Přesně takovými materiály jsou designové stěrky Imitace betonu a Betonepox. Jde o léty prověřené technologie, které díky zkušenostem doladila firma Němec do posledního detailu.

Od 1.1.2022 se významně zpřísnily požadavky na novostavby. Energetická optimalizace se stává nedílnou součástí již samotné studie. Budova splňující nové požadavky by měla optimálně propojit úsporný architektonicko-stavební koncept budovy, účinné technologie a případně i využít dostupné obnovitelné zdroje.

When we first asked the “first lady” of Czech architecture for a “family” interview about architecture we were decidedly rejected. Apparently they didn’t talk about architecture at home. But after a few long phone calls and careful explanations, one Saturday evening we finally met - professor Alena Šrámková, her daughter Magdalena Hlaváčková and granddaughter Magdalena Hlaváčková jr. – in their house in Jenštejn, and we talked about passing on the architectural profession from generation to generation.

There is still some confusion surrounding the term postmodern architecture, especially as to which architectural legacy it actually references. Roots of the movement—originally critical of ossified modernist dogmas, opposing the fashionable brutalist wave—date back to the first manifestos of the 1960s, but it was through Charles Jencks’ theoretical agenda that it later established itself under the name postmodernism...