Pulse Journal 1

�ULSE JOU�NAL

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Observations About the Identity of Central European Architecture and Design

�F ARC�I‑ TE�TURE & D�SIGN

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PUL�E J�URNAL 1 Observations about the identity of Central European architecture and design

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TO MY NATIONS text Miloš Štěpař

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TIME FOR A RESTART text Marcin Szczelina

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SURVEY OF IDENTITY OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN DESIGN text Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, Sophie Lovell, Arik Levy, Ivana Knobloch, Helena Koenigsmarková, François Leblanc di Cicilia, Maria Cristina Didero, Marco Sammicheli, Rainald Franz

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CENTRAL EUROPEAN DESIGN IDENTITY text Deyan Sudjic

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RE-EDITIONS text Adam Štěch

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS & FINALISTS edit Tereza Finková

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INTERVIEW WITH ARIANNA LELLI MAMI text Adam Štěch

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HOW GOOD DESIGN COMES TO LIFE text Jakub Pollág

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VIENNA CRAFT TRADITION text Adam Štěch

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BUDAPEST: THE BEST IS YET TO COME? text László Bagi

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KENGO KUMA: THE SUBTLE PLAY OF BRICK text Tatiana Milovanovic-Mladenovic

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COMFY SEATING FITS ANYWHERE text Václav Rybář

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VRTIŠKA & ŽÁK AND RAVAK: IN PURSUIT OF GOOD DESIGN text Adam Štěch

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THE EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR DESIGN text Adam Štěch

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GRACE IN THE CITY text Václav Rybář

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ARCHITECTURE OF AWE text Natalia Olszewska

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PULSE 2025 WIDE LIST

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T� �Y N�TI�N�!

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● Miloš Štěpař (1988) 1990

The founder and owner of PULSE, a platform dedicated to architecture and design operating across Central Europe.

He also owns the Czech publishing house New Look Media, which publishes titles such as Dolce Vita and Euro Weekly.

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�ILOŠ ŠTE�AŘ CZ

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THE KIDNAPPED WEST

“Central European design” is not an empty phrase. It is a legacy – one we must learn to speak of clearly, confidently, and together.

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Central Europe is seldom spoken of today – and when it is, it is often misunderstood. Yet here, between the Alps and the Carpathians, between Dresden and Timișoara, lies one of the richest cultural regions the world has ever known. I know it not from hearsay, but from life. There are places that exist not merely on maps, but in memory and spirit. Central Europe is one of them. A land whose cultural vitality surpasses that of many regions more widely celebrated. And yet, the world still mistakes us for the East. This is no trivial confusion; it is a grave error, one that has persisted long after the Iron Curtain fell.

And because it endures, it must be named.

In our values and our culture, we belong to the West, to the Europe of Michelangelo and Shakespeare, of Baudelaire and Beethoven. And to that same lineage belong Chopin’s nocturnes, the symphonies of Smetana and Dvořák, the rhapsodies of Bartók. The voices of Kafka and Gombrowicz, the ideas of Freud and Wittgenstein, the visions of Loos and Hoffmann. For centuries, our cities grew alongside the great metropolises of the continent. Our universities, among the oldest in Europe, bore witness to the flowering of reason and the advance of knowledge. Our art, our invention, our thought, these have shaped the very soul of European civilization.

Ask the Hungarian, the Czech, the Pole, or the Austrian what the word Europe means, and you will not find them gazing eastward. For us, Europe has never been a matter of geography alone. It is a home of the mind, a homeland of the spirit. It is the West, the beacon of liberty and law, of dignity and truth and it is a home we have helped shape through our culture and contributions. We belong to it not by accident of fate, but by the will of history. Even when the tides of war and tyranny tore us away, we remained its children.

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After the Second World War, our nations endured what must rightly be called a great abduction – an abduction from the West. In 1945, we awoke in the light of hardwon freedom, purchased in blood. And yet, before long, that freedom slipped from our grasp. A new curtain descended. Iron and implacable. The very border of Europe shifted westward by hundreds of miles, and those who had for centuries counted themselves part of the West found themselves marooned in the East. It was as if our history had been torn from our hands and rewritten by another. But our identity, though battered, did not break.

It could not be erased by lines on a map, nor extinguished by foreign decrees.

This tragedy of Central Europe – that it is culturally of the West, yet politically imprisoned in the East – became the central theme of Milan Kundera’s famed essay, pointedly titled The Kidnapped West. In it, Kundera sought to awaken the conscience of Europe.

He reminded the West that the great dramas played out in Budapest in 1956, in Prague in 1968, in Warsaw in 1980, were not the obscure struggles of some distant, forgotten hinterland. They were not merely “Eastern European” affairs. They were the West’s own tragedy – the Kidnapped West, torn from its cultural home and cast behind the Iron Curtain, yet fiercely, stubbornly refusing to surrender its soul.

The Hungarians, the Poles, the Czechs, the Slovaks and others besides rose not in the name of utopia, but in defense of what is most concrete and enduring: the dignity of the human being, the freedom of speech and thought, the rule of law. These were not revolts from the margins of Europe; they were Europe

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TO MY NATIONS!

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From the refined austerity of Loos to the monumental dreams of Dedeček, this region 1940 has spoken in lines and volumes as eloquently as in verse.

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THE POWER OF CULTURE

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itself, calling out from captivity. And though the tanks rolled in, though the revolutions were crushed, the culture remained unbroken. The language survived. The memory endured. The spirit resisted.

Then came November 1989. The streets of Central Europe filled once more. Not with silence, but with the voices of a people reclaiming their history.

What had been a zone of absence became an agora. A society long deprived of truth began to speak again in the language of liberty. It seemed, at last, that the unnatural partition of Europe was dissolving, and that these nations would return after decades of isolation to where they had always belonged: to Europe, not as petitioners, but as rightful heirs.

And yet, how baffling it is that even now, more than a generation later, these countries are still so often branded “post-communist”. A term that now sounds as misplaced as if someone in 1980 had described West Germany as a “post-Nazi” state. Yes, these nations endured tyranny. But they have now spent nearly as many years in freedom as they did in bondage. Their democracies have been rebuilt. A new civic spirit has taken root.

Why then should they be frozen in the language of a past they have long since overcome? History has its claims, but it does not own the future. Least of all the future of a region that, in its soul and its culture, has always belonged to the West.

The essence of our Central European identity does not lie in some mythical Slavic bloodline, nor in any imagined racial unity. We are not bound by lineage, nor defined by language alone. Central Europe speaks in many tongues: the Slavic voices of Czech, Polish, and Slovak; the Germanic cadences of German; the singular melody of Hungarian, Ugric and proud. And across this polyphony, we understand each other in a language deeper than words.

Our unity is not a matter of ancestry, but of culture – not of shared blood, but of shared heritage and values. The idea of a monolithic “Slavic world” is a historical fiction, a concept once wielded to justify Russia’s imperial ambitions, but one that has never reflected the true character of our region. We Czechs, for example, are culturally and historically closer to Hungarians and Austrians than to Russians. With Poles and Slovaks, we share centuries of life under the Habsburg Crown, parallel legal systems, common artistic movements, and intellectual kinship.

Instead of unity through blood, Central Europe has forged unity through diversity. This region has long been a crossroads of cultures and creeds. In one city, the synagogue stood beside the Catholic church and the Protestant chapel. From the town halls rang many languages. In the markets, people of every origin traded, bartered, and spoke. On a small stretch of land bloomed a remarkable cultural richness, not by design or decree, but through the lived experience of coexistence.

Over time, this became the region’s defining principle: the greatest possible diversity within the smallest possible space. Central Europe aspired to be a concentrated version of the continent itself, a kind of arch-European Europe. A miniature model of the whole, shaped by one essential rule: variety over uniformity, intellectual tension over forced synthesis.

How could a region so shaped not regard Russia with caution. Russia, whose model stands in stark contrast: the smallest possible diversity spread across the largest possible territory. An imperial logic, not of 8

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Even the most iconic silhouette in industrial design, the modern automobile, bears the imprint of Central Europe.

coexistence, but of standardisation. A system where difference is not tolerated, but erased; where otherness is not preserved, but systematically extinguished. That is why the mentality of the East feels more foreign to us than it does to many nations further west. Though the West itself often fails to see this, reflexively lumping us into the same category.

But the difference between East and Centre is not merely political. It is cultural. It is civilisational. It shapes our sense of what we call home.

František Palacký, the foremost figure in 19th-century Czech political thought, recognised the peril of blind pan-Slavism long before it became a historical trap. In the revolutionary year of 1848, he was invited to embrace the ideal of Slavic brotherhood under Russian patronage. He refused unequivocally. He warned that the small nations of Central Europe, once placed under the Tsar’s dominion, would lose both their freedom and their identity. Instead, he championed the vision of an Austrian federation – a bulwark against Russian expansion. He wrote that if Austria did not exist, it would have to be invented, for the sake of Europe and humanity.

And then, in a bitter irony of history, exactly one hundred years later in 1948 his fears were fulfilled. Under the banner of Slavic unity, the Soviet Union claimed Central Europe as its ideological buffer zone. It was precisely this fate that Palacký had sought to avert and it was precisely this fate that came to pass.

Yet Central Europe never resigned itself to the role of a passive victim. In all our nations, there has always been a remarkable gift – the ability to transform suffering into inner strength, to turn oppression into resistance. And when our identity was under threat, our answer was culture: books, music, painting, theatre.

Culture became our sanctuary, our defiance, our anchor in the storm. In the darkest hours of tyranny, cultural life did not wither. It deepened. It intensified until culture itself became a living value, around which people gathered, silently and stubbornly. Our beautiful region became, in those years, a kind of hothouse, where the flowers of the spirit blossomed against the frost of totalitarianism.

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1990 A MOSAIC BETWEEN EMPIRES

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Central Europe is a unique realm, hemmed in by two geopolitical giants, Germany and Russia, between which stretches a mosaic of small nations, whose very existence has never been taken for granted. As Milan Kundera astutely observed, a small nation is one “whose very existence may at any moment be cast into doubt.”

This enduring vulnerability, this acute awareness of possible erasure, has over generations cultivated a distinct sensitivity and a defensive instinct in our peoples, one in which culture assumes a role far beyond the aesthetic.

In a region where political power is more an intermittent anomaly than a stable inheritance, culture emerges as the principal axis of identity – the arena in which meaning, memory, and the future itself are contested.

From this crucible arises a peculiar cultural temperament, marked by an inherent mistrust of grand historical narratives, a sharp taste for irony, and a disarming detachment from triumphalism. The peoples of Central Europe are not, by and large, the authors of history; they are its unwilling passengers. Fully aware of how swiftly they can be swept away by its currents, they regard “History”, that lofty abstraction of Hegel or Marx, with a heavy dose of scepticism.

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TO MY NATIONS!

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Culture became our 1950 sanctuary, our defiance, our anchor in the storm.

When everything else was taken, creativity 1960 remained.

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Among the forces that have shaped the soul of Central Europe, none is more profound or more tragically underacknowledged than the Jewish contribution. Nowhere else in the world has the Jewish spirit left such a deep and lasting imprint as it has here, in this crossroads of cultures. For centuries, the intellectual and artistic life of cities like Prague, Vienna, Kraków, and Budapest was enriched – indeed, transformed – by Jewish writers, scientists, composers, and entrepreneurs.

Without them, Central European culture would be something altogether different: less dazzling, less layered, less incandescent.

Franz Kafka, born in Prague to a Jewish merchant family, captured the absurdity and existential anxiety of modern life with prophetic clarity. Sigmund Freud, born in the Moravian town of Příbor, opened a window into the unconscious and forever changed how we understand the human mind. Gustav Mahler, born in the Bohemian Highlands, infused his symphonies with spiritual depth and sweeping ambition, fusing Eastern melodies with Western structure, two worlds joined in a single voice.

This Jewish tradition was no footnote. It was central to the cultural identity of Central Europe. And though the twentieth century dealt it a brutal, near-fatal blow, its echoes endure. Those voices – of genius, of pain, of longing and vision – still speak to us, and still demand that we listen.

The life of architect Daniel Libeskind is a vivid illustration of this layered identity. Born in 1946 in Łódź, Poland, to Jewish parents who had survived the Shoah, the Holocaust, that abyssal wound in the history of Europe, Libeskind's early years were shaped by trau-

THE JEWISH LEGACY 1980

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Out of this scepticism springs a cultural voice that does not glorify conquest, but instead elevates the absurd and the tragicomic. A quintessential embodiment of this spirit is The Good Soldier Švejk, who wanders through the streets of Prague, seemingly naive, disarmingly literal, and comically inert. Yet his simplicity is not stupidity, it is resistance by other means. In his arsenal is no sword or gun, but rather a deliberate, defiant folly: a quiet strategy of survival through absurdity.

His inoffensiveness is his armour. His buffoonery is subversive. In this unlikely figure, an outsider who is barely aware of his own heroism, resides the indomitable spirit of Central Europe: a spirit that laughs, precisely so that it does not break.

It is for this reason that every uprising in Central Europe – 1956, 1968, 1980, and 1989 – bore the unmistakable mark of culture. In 1956 Hungary, it was the writers and poets of the Petőfi Circle who first ignited the spark of rebellion through their fearless words.

The Prague Spring of 1968 could never have blossomed without the artistic and intellectual renaissance that preceded it. The film directors of the New Wave, the experimental theatre-makers, the philosophers and novelists who dared to ask what it means to be free.

In Poland, it was the banning of a play based on Adam Mickiewicz, a titan of Polish Romanticism, that triggered the student protests of 1968. And in 1989, once again, it was the voices of culture that lit the way.

In Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, and Budapest, it was the playwrights like Václav Havel, the musicians, actors, and authors who summoned the courage and moral clarity to bring down tyranny without firing a single shot.

That is how Central Europe found its breath again. That is how it found its voice.

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ma, exile, and resilience. As a young boy, he left communist Poland with his family, first for Israel, and then for the West.

He studied architecture in New York, and over time became one of the most influential designers of our age. In his work, architecture becomes a language of memory. His buildings, like the Jewish Museum in Berlin or the master plan for Ground Zero in New York, are infused with silence and meaning, shaped as much by what is absent as by what is built. They do not simply stand; they speak.

When we honoured Daniel Libeskind with the Pulse Lifetime Achievement Award, we were recognising not just his individual brilliance, but something broader: the enduring courage of Central Europe to turn trauma into creativity, memory into meaning. Libeskind’s journey proves that a child of this region, born into loss, raised in exile, can still rise in freedom and leave an indelible mark on the world. And in doing so, carry with him, undiminished, the clear imprint of a Central European soul.

AND YET, DESPITE ALL THESE EXAMPLES...

What I call for is not a political union, but a recognition that we share a portion of fate and perhaps a common calling.

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And yet, despite all these examples and the immense cultural wealth they represent Central Europe still lingers, as if in the shadow of its larger neighbours. We hear of Italian design, of Scandinavian design, phrases that evoke a clear aesthetic, a distinct sensibility, a shared cultural idea. But “Central European design”?

Rarely, if ever.

This is not because no such identity exists.

Quite the opposite it exists in abundance. But history, with its ruptures and interruptions, broke the continuity through which our design language might have become globally recognised.

Yet from our region came architectural and artistic legacies that helped shape modern aesthetics.

Adolf Loos, born in Brno, shattered the grip of ornamental historicism in Vienna and helped pave the way for modernist architecture, both through his iconic essay Ornament and Crime and his austere, radically clear buildings. Josef Hoffmann, from Brtnice in Moravia, co-founded the Wiener Werkstätte and gave form to the refined geometry of the Secessionist style visible in masterpieces like the Stoclet Palace and countless everyday objects in which utility and beauty were made inseparable.

In the years before the First World War, Prague became the cradle of architectural Cubism. Nowhere else can one find buildings whose fractured, crystalline forms seem to have leapt from a Picasso canvas and into stone and wood. This remarkable fusion of craft and vision was our region’s answer to modernity.

And even through war, occupation, and revolution, we continued. In Brno rose the luminous functionalist gem Villa Tugendhat. In Zlín, industrial design flourished under the Baťa name, marrying efficiency with elegance. The glass and jewellery of the Czech-Slovak borderlands reached salons from Paris to Tokyo. The Thonet chairs – first bent in the workshops of Bystřice pod Hostýnem – became icons of café culture across Europe and America. In the later 20th century, Jan Kaplický pushed the frontiers of architecture with bold, futuristic forms that gained global acclaim.

Seen in its totality, this is no peripheral contribution. “Central European design” is not a vague or empty phrase, it is a legacy. One we have yet to tell the world with clarity, confidence, and, most importantly, together.

TO MY NATIONS!

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A CALL TO SPEAK TOGETHER

Because it is in unity that our future lies. Central Europe has always aspired to be a kind of arch-European Europe, a concentrated version of the continent itself, where the greatest diversity exists within the smallest space. Few things stand in greater contrast to this vision than the imperial logic of Russia. A model that has, across history, sought to impose uniformity across vast territories, demanding one language, one ideology, one truth. It is, in every respect, the antithesis of Central Europe’s pluralism.

We, by contrast, have inherited a different ideal: one of diversity, of cultural abundance, of a shared but multifaceted identity. And today, in an age of geopolitical uncertainty and cultural fragmentation, this Central European solidarity – rooted in lived experience – can become a unique form of soft power. A force not of domination, but of cultural depth.

I do not call for a new political union. I do not argue for institutional integration. What I call for is deeper understanding. Mutual trust. The recognition that we share a portion of destiny and perhaps a common calling.

We must coordinate our cultural efforts across borders. We must foster dialogue between Prague and Warsaw, between Bratislava, Budapest, and Vienna. Among our galleries and theatres, our schools and studios, our archives and ateliers. If we can learn to speak as one, thoughtfully, clearly, and with creative distinction, then we will be better equipped to protect not only our values and our interests, but to contribute something essential to the world.

THE PULSE OF A REGION

This is what led us to found Pulse. A platform for architecture and design in Central Europe. A space for conversation, collaboration, and the rediscovery of a shared voice. Already, we are witnessing the beginnings of that voice. When we speak together, when we celebrate each other’s triumphs and search for unity amid difference, the pulse of our region begins to beat louder: clearer, stronger.

In that moment, we become visible. Not just to ourselves, but to the world. By joining our voices, our talents, our memories, our living cultures, we may yet create something new. Something worthy. A true Central European cultural phenomenon for the 21st century.

In doing so, we do not sever ourselves from the past. On the contrary we carry it forward. We honour those who made culture a form of resistance. And now, in our time, we may use culture not only to resist, but to build. To reach beyond borders. To forge bridges across old divisions. To write the next chapter of our shared story – together.

Our mission is clear: Central Europe must no longer be overlooked. It must never again be taken for granted, or reduced to a footnote. We must share our cultural wealth with each other and with the world.

Because Central Europe is not some forgotten province between empires. It is a source: of form, of thought, of design that dares to imagine. From the disciplined clarity of Loos to the luminous visions of Moholy-Nagy; from Breuer’s universal forms to Jurkovič’s poetic modernism and Dedeček’s monumental dreams.

This region has spoken in line and space as eloquently as in word and song.

Even the most iconic object in the history of industrial design, the modern automobile, bears the fingerprints of Ledwinka and Porsche, minds formed not in Stuttgart or Wolfsburg, but in the hills and workshops of Bohemia and Moravia.

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Central Europe aspired to be a kind of arch2000 European Europe: the greatest possible diversity within the 2010 smallest possible space.

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Here, between tradition and invention, between restraint and revolution, a design language took root. And though history scattered its expression, it never silenced it.

We must now reclaim it. Define it. Tell its story – clearly, confidently, and with the quiet certainty of those who do not beg for recognition, but reveal what was always there.

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With respect, and with hope, Miloš Štěpař Founder of Pulse, A Central European

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When we speak together, through our galleries, studios, and schools, the pulse of our region begins to beat louder, clearer, stronger.

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TO MY NATIONS!

TI�E FO� � RE�TART

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Rethinking the Future of Architecture and Design 1970

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● Marcin Szczelina (1982)

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Marcin Szczelina is an architecture critic and curator, founder of Architecture Snob, and an expert for the European Mies van der Rohe Award since 2014. He has curated notable exhibitions and won the Property Design Awards 2017 for his contributions to Polish architecture.

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The world is changing at an unprecedented pace.

Boundaries, physical, social, and conceptual, are shifting, and the spaces we once considered permanent are proving to be fluid. Climate change is reshaping our landscapes, cities are adapting to new realities, and societies are redefining how they function. In this rapidly evolving context, architecture and design must not remain static. They must become catalysts for rethinking the environments we inhabit.

PULSE Festival 2025, taking place in Ostrava and Prague, is an open invitation to reconsider how we build, create, and shape the world around us.

The future of architecture and design is no longer about expansion, it is about reinvention. We must move beyond the traditional paradigm of construction as a linear process. Instead, we need a regenerative, circular approach. One that prioritizes adaptability, transformation, and sustainability. Buildings can no longer be treated as fixed endpoints, but must become dynamic systems capable of evolving over time. Cities should not be rigid infrastructures, but living organisms that learn, change, and respond to the challenges ahead.

The answer is not to build more, but to build with greater intelligence and foresight. The spaces of the future must be flexible, designed to transform in response to shifting needs and contexts. The era of static urban planning is over. What we need now are structures that can be disassembled and reassembled, materials that are reused rather than discarded, and products designed not for obsolescence but for longevity. Across all scales, design must embrace resilience, adaptability, and responsibility.

Many leading architects and designers are already pioneering this shift. Rotor, for example, specializes in salvaging and reusing building materials, extending their life cycles and reducing environmental impact.

Arno Brandlhuber shows how prefabricated elements can be reimagined and recontextualized for new functions. Cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Oslo are offering tangible models of circular urbanism – redefining city-making as a regenerative practice rather than a consumptive one.

PULSE Festival 2025 unfolds in cities that themselves embody the idea of a restart. Ostrava, with its post-industrial legacy, is a testing ground for architectural innovation through the reactivation of existing structures. Prague, a city shaped by historical layers, continues to balance preservation with the pursuit of new urban strategies. Both places illustrate the urgent need to rethink how we engage with space to design for the present while preparing for an unpredictable future.

This transformation extends beyond architecture; it is equally urgent in product design. The objects we create shape the way we live, consume, and relate to our environment. Design should not only aim for aesthetic value but also for responsibility, ensuring that products are part of a continuous material cycle rather than destined for waste. True innovation does not mean creating more, but creating better.

We are standing at a pivotal moment. RESTART is not an abstract idea. It is a call to action. PULSE Festival 2025 is a space where new ideas take shape, where creativity meets responsibility, and where the future of architecture and design is being actively imagined. In a time of rapid transformation, the only way forward is to design with intelligence, agility, and vision to create a world that does not simply endure, but evolves.

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TIME FOR A RESTART

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Nine voices from the fields of design, architecture, and art reflect on the question of Central European identity.

Does a distinct creative identity exist within this region shaped by its shared history, culture, and geography?

And how might it influence the way designers and artists think, live, and create in this part of Europe?

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SURV�Y �F I�ENTITY CZ

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Arik Levy Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka François Leblanc di Cicilia Helena Koenigsmarková Iva Knobloch Marco Sammicheli Maria Cristina Didero Rainald Franz Sophie Lovell

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�F CENT�AL �UROPEAN DE�IGN CZ

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SURVEY OF IDENTITY

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Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka Curator, Warsaw We can read Central European identity on a few levels.

The first is created by the region’s history, which has shaped our urban and rural spaces. WW II, then communism and post-communist transformation, caused a special kind of disintegration of spaces and broke the continuity of visual and material culture. This post-war and post-communist legacy changed Central Europe’s meaning or geographical range; Austria, the most Central European country before the war, is not there anymore, and the Baltics could be included even if they would prefer to be Scandinavian or Nordic. This is the level one.

The second level of Central European identity is deeply intertwined with the natural context. The landscape, vegetation, and materials like wood or stone are not just a backdrop, but they are the significant shapers of the poetics of Central European design and architecture. These elements, with their unique colours and forms, are not just part of the environment, but they are deeply ingrained in our subconscious, influencing our imagination and creative decisions.

While it may be challenging to pinpoint a single ‘typical’ Central European building or object, the collective presence of these structures in our villages and towns, and the objects that we gather in one space, form a strong and unique identity. This identity, while evident, is not easily defined, reflecting the diverse yet consistent nature of Central European design and architecture.

Finally, let’s think about Central Europe as a place and local customs. It seems clear that buildings and objects, how we use them, how we, Central Europeans, interact with spaces and items, and how we combine them create identity more than design or architecture itself.

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Iva Knobloch Curator, Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague I see this concept retrospectively today, as a culturally rich, diverse German-speaking territory, where the influences of the West and the East (Hungary) and the North (Poland) crossed, mixed, appropriated and formed a rich local interest. So for me it is the period of Austria-Hungary and a certain foreign political and cultural attitude of the First Republic. For my generation here in Czechoslovakia, that term was alive in the 1980s, when a different cultural identity than the Eastern one was being sought. Today I am not sure whether this concept can work, because the trajectories of influences and inspirations are endless.

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Sophie Lovell Writer, Berlin Is there such a thing as Central European* identity in design and architecture? Does the concept have a right to exist? Are we benefiting enough from the cultural legacy of the region? How do you look at this region from your global perspective?

I can’t answer this question from a global perspective, only from the perspective of someone who was fortunate enough to grow up and study in the UK and then to be able to choose to spend the past 30 years in Berlin in a job that I love. But also as someone whose cultural legacy and sense of identity has shifted accordingly, most noticeably away from nationality and towards community as well as away from viewing design and architecture as practices discrete from other human activities.

I’m extremely antipathetic to any attempts at branding things with national or regional cultural identities. What do you consider to be the benefits of that?

Economic? Political? Social? It seems to me that tying identity to nationality and political nationhood has a lot to answer for and little of it good. Why not tie identity to values and principles such as equity, equality, care, justice and community instead? I can understand cultural legacy in terms of something like a way of life that is in harmony with the landscape such as transhumance traditions and perhaps a particular regional cheese, for example because these occur within ecosystems. They are adaptations of ingenuity that have arisen from time and have nothing to do with lines on a map or the colour of a flag.

Did you know that the “Made in Germany” merchandise label was originally part of a 19th Century protectionist strategy by the British government to label inferior quality imported goods? In the late 19th Century and then after WWII, in a quest for economic growth, the German government and industry managed to rebrand the term as a mark of high-quality consumer goods instead. A lot of capital and yet more protectionist policies went into doing that too. Just as it did with the label “Made in China”. This has nothing to do with design and architectural identity or legacy and everything to do with politics and economics.

Forget these kinds of narratives and their baggage. They are neither regenerative nor robust. They have little to do with equity, collaboration and postgrowth values but everything to do with competition.

Forget regions and countries and think in terms of ecosystems and how the hell the planet is going to meet the Paris Accord. Is it not better to foster global post-fossil identities with regional perspectives than perpetuate ones based on territorial borders? *I am taking Central Europe here to mean: Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.

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1960 Arik Levy Designer, Paris In 1996, there was an exhibition meant to be called Design and Identity. It featured different countries in Europe, each with its own room, and I was responsible for creating the visual identity for the exhibition. The challenge was: how do you create an identity for identity itself? Let’s start by defining the terms we are using.

Design is a profession aimed at improving everyday life through creativity and industry. The job of design is not to declare national identity – such as saying “I am Czech” or “I am from Kathmandu”. Instead, its role is to collaborate with industry, whether local or international. For instance, when a Polish designer works with a French company directed by an Italian art director, with a Japanese CEO, owned by a Canadian group, what do we do?

Design often – but not exclusively – utilizes traditional know-how and craft from its place of origin. This sometimes leads to a resemblance in “style”, a term I particularly dislike. When this style is pushed too far, it starts to connect and connote a particular geographic origin or traditional context. For example, when we see a finely crafted bamboo basket, we don’t think of Finland.

This phenomenon also appears in food, drinks, clothing, etc. These factors can also be misleading.

The designer’s aim is not to promote their country of origin or nationality. The goal is to create a great project that answers questions, solves problems of all kinds, pushes the industry forward, and presents a vision. Notably, about half of Italian products are designed by foreigners. However, we should remember that furniture, lighting, and objects are only a small percentage of what this profession offers and what the industry needs.

When I sit and close my eyes, I don’t mind or look to know who designed the chairs or where was it manufactured, or the origin of the factory workers. I try to feel how comfortable I am. The same goes for the aesthetics. I believe we should “Be to Design and not Design to Be”, design for the people by people.

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François Leblanc di Cicilia Curator, Paris

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Helena Koenigsmarková Former Director, Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague I am an art historian, and before I became the director of the UPM, I was more interested in Czech medieval artistic crafts, but I can only confirm that my perception of Central European identity, but especially cultural memory, was very strong already in the time of Charles IV, who was a cosmopolitan but put the Czech lands at the forefront of political and cultural power. I think that the cultural memory of another large group of nations in the Habsburg Monarchy is still important for the development of the 20th and 21st centuries. This is where the main experience of modernity in architecture and design came from and in a way it still continues. For our region, the promising manifestation of quality and uniqueness, along with its representatives, was unfortunately mostly suppressed during the 20th century by political interventions, whether war or pressure from totalitarian regimes. So I would say that Central European identity in architecture and design is now very important for the awareness of transnational solidarity and application in the global context.

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Culturally, the process of identifying and classifying creations is highly debatable, in my opinion. The act of defining an identity often leads to exclusion, which seems almost antithetical to the essence of Central Europe as generally understood.

Central Europe is often seen as a cradle or incubator for fantastic art and design movements that have had a global impact. This is undoubtedly due to its rich tapestry of diverse, intercommunicating cultures, shaped by a particularly dynamic political environment. This complexity itself is a distinctive feature – a patchwork of cultural legacies.

The population of this region has been at the center of numerous transformations – political, religious, and geographic – that have created an ideal space for the amplification of trends, debates, and exchanges.

These influences, whether voluntary or forced (through commerce, wars, and emigration), have woven a unique fabric of interconnected cultural influences. This has shaped a shared sphere of influence that is anything but monolithic, where freedom holds a special value.

Thanks to the presence of highly skilled producers, either preserved or newly developed, designers in this region have the opportunity to bridge vernacular craftsmanship with innovative concepts or disruptive ideas. Universities here also navigate the complexities of cultural convergence and future challenges, creating a unique space for opportunity and reflection. This global context – an intense cultural background, specialized skills, and intercommunicating centers of knowledge – should provide authentic responses to contemporary questions in design and architecture.

This approach is likely not about stamping a “Central European identity” onto solutions but rather about opening the conversation, drawing on a long heritage of thought and a broad spectrum of lived experiences. The Central European design identity is more of a chorus of free and original voices than a single, unified voice.

Marco Sammicheli Curator, Triennale di Milano, Milan Central European identity in design and architecture existed in the recent past and it’s a clear source and language in contemporary creativity after WW2. It benefits enough from the cultural legacy of the region that there are patriarchs that have influenced generations ahead.

If I just think about the Austrians like Kiesler, Pichler, Hollein, the Slovenian Plečnik, the Czeches Loos, Hoffmann, Kaplicky, Sipek. Some of these figures influenced or were friends to Ettore Sottsass. Through him a large number of living figures developed their own style between Milan and London: Matteo Thun, Christoph Radl, Martino Gamper. I would also add another cluster composed by designers able to merge crafts, technology and decoration such as Ingo Maurer or Maxim Velcovsky, Onka Allmayer-Beck, Cristina Celestino, Giulio Ridolfo, Zaven and Marco Dessì. I think we should extend the Central European cultural region to cities like Trieste and Münich, Venice and Ljubljana where the contemporary design culture and architecture are flourishing thanks to schools, institutions and biennales.

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Maria Cristina Didero Curator, Milan I believe design has the power of being a universal language. For sure context and culture could affect and influence the design language, but I truly believe design has no passport, no boundaries and no flags.

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Rainald Franz Curator, Museum of Applied Arts MAK, Vienna To my point of view there is a Central European identity in design and architecture. This identity has developed from a common history, religion and cultural influence.

To define Central Europe, I would prefer the definition of Central Europe by cultural criteria, meaning that you can integrate all the countries as defined by the Sourcebook of Centra European Avantgardes (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Europe#/media/File:Avantgarde_ CE.svg).

Design and architecture in Central Europe have developed their identity due to a distinct way of adopting international influences on their own culture. Not only the concept of design, also the teaching of applied arts and architecture was taken over from countries like France and Great Britain in the second half of the 19th century, because their aesthetics were seen as more successful in the competition for international markets.

The curricula developed by Academies and Schools of Applied Arts and their influential teachers in Central Europe from the end of the 19th century led to a specific aesthetic development. International informed avantgarde movements, led by their female and male pupils, developed regional styles in architecture and design, giving way to national expression, like dialects of the international language of modernity. The linear functional could exist next to the sculptural expressive. This new aesthetic, based on a concept of freedom of thinking and formal development, led to the founding of new sciences like art history in Central Europe. Due to political developments, the World Wars, and the need to leave their countries for economic and political reasons, many a Central European designer or architect moved to Western Europe, Asia, or the United States, becoming innovators in style and form there, who lead to new developments. Also, the period of Communism in the Eastern European Countries has developed new styles in design and architecture, in collaboration with and in adversity to the regime. This has led to a unique situation for design and architecture in Central Europe today.

Reflection and awareness of this unique common history should be the key to further positive developments in the future.

From a global perspective, I see the vivid creative scene developing in Austria’s near and neighboring countries, with young designers and architects, highly informed and open to what is happening internationally, but also aware of their roots.

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�ENTRAL EURO�EAN �ESIGN IDE�TITY

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�EYAN SU�JIC CZ

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● Deyan Sudjic OBE (1952) British writer and broadcaster. Sudjic was a design and architecture critic for The Observer, Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Kingston University, Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Art and CoChair of the Urban Age Advisory Board.

In 1983, he co-founded Blueprint, a monthly magazine on architecture, with Peter Murray and Simon Esterson, and became the magazine's editor and then its editorial director. From 2000 to 04, he was editor of Domus. He was made an OBE in 2000. In 1999 he was the director of the City of Architecture and Design programme in Glasgow and in 2002 the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2006 Sudjic became director of the Design Museum.

Sudjic has contributed to The Guardian, the London Review of Books and other publications.

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Looking back, it was probably the question of national identity that got me interested in thinking about design in the first place. Growing up in London, and spending the occasional summer in what was still called Yugoslavia, I noticed something that didn’t quite add up about the banknotes generous elderly aunts would press into my hands in Belgrade which had to be spent before going home. In Britain money was signified by elaborately engraved portraits of men, mostly with unnecessary amounts of facial hair, and elaborate wigs accompanied of course, by an image of Queen Elizabeth II and some complicatedly obsolete typography. Yugoslav money didn’t look quite like the real thing. It came with images of blast furnaces, heroic steel workers, apple cheeked peasants, along with red stars and burning torches merging into a single flame in what turned out to be a failed attempt to symbolize south slav unity.

This I later realized, was a particularly revealing example of design in action. In both cases, design was being used to transform an inherently worthless rectangle of paper, into an artefact of some value.

And it was value of a specifically British, or Yugoslav kind, which in the latter case, following the hyperinflation of the Milosevic years was to prove less than durable. It was a kind of conjuring trick. The less apparently self conscious it was, the more effective it would be as a national symbol. But to get this right requires a designer to be more self conscious than authentic.

There was a lot to be learned about the aspirations of Yugoslavia’s successor states from the ways in which they made use of graphic design and indeed architecture. Before the blood soaked breakup of the country, each side seemed to be marking out its territory with a burst of competitive religious architecture. Croats designed modernist Catholic churches. Serbs built larger and larger supposedly traditional Orthodox places of worship with Byzantine style domes.

As it readied itself to take its future in its own hands, Slovenia commissioned the gifted graphic designer Milenko Likul to design a new currency. He looked back to pre-communist cultural heroes as subject matter. He depicted the architect Jose Plecnik on one side of the 500 Toller note and put his masterpiece, the National Library in Ljubljana on the other. Likul disrupted the conventional language of currency design.

He portrayed Plecnik full face and carefully drawn, but he was also shown in profile as a shadow with a compass in the background. The library is shown both in elevation and plan with floating pattern of stone blocks that have apparently been excavated from the façade and left dynamically hanging in mid air like something out of the Matrix. This was a carefully calibrated signal of a state that was emerging from authoritarianism, confident enough not to be pompous about itself. It had after all shown itself capable of manufacturing consumer goods the rest of the world was ready to buy, not because they were cheap, but because they were impressive. Davorin Savnik chief designer at the state owned Slovenian company Iskra had come up with a telephone handset that MoMA acquired for its permanent collection. Iskra’s nearest equivalents in the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic with their command and control economies just made blatant copies of Grundig and Sony.

It is in the nature of industrial design that designers depend on the skills and the capacities of the manufacturing systems that they have to work with.

Soviet design in those days was a kind of cargo cult, something like the one pursued by Melanesian island-

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1990 ● Graphic designer Milenko Likul designed a new currency for Slovenia in the early 1990s, featuring pre-communist cultural icons. Architect Jože Plečnik appeared on the 500 Tolar note, with his National Library in Ljubljana on the reverse.

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● The Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord in Vinohrady, designed by Jože Plečnik, shown here during its construction in 1932. One of the architect’s most distinctive works in Prague, it blends modernist form with spiritual symbolism.

It is in the nature of industrial design that designers depend on the skills and the capacities of the manufacturing systems that they have to work with.

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ers capable of producing twig and mud facsimiles of the aircraft that brought them an abundance of industrial goods from the sky, but with no concept of how to make them fly. Savnik developed his own design language that transcended the Iron Curtain. And Slovenia had the means to make use of it effectively.

Croatia on the other hand adopted the Kuna.

It made banknotes that looked almost indistinguishable from Deutschemarks. Both the Toller and the Kuna have gone now, replaced by the Euro, a currency with a design based on the obvious symbolism of doors, bridges and windows to suggest a collaborative and connected union that is non specific enough to avoid alienating any member state with images of specific bridges, doors or windows. They are designed to suggest an implicit belief in historical progress. Low value notes show Roman monuments and are followed by a sequence that works its way chronologically through generic forms of gothic, baroque and the 19th century to put modern plate glass on the highest value.

A question that is difficult to answer is the extent to which design is genuinely an expression of national characteristics, or else a form of advertising for them. Otl Aicher the co-founder of the Ulm school of design, author of Lufthansa’s corporate identity, and of the Munich Olympics, who genuinely believed that if only Germans had not been so wedded to the use of capital letters, they could have resisted Fascism more effectively, certainly did. Which perhaps only goes to show that graphic designers look at the world through the restricted frame of the distance between a full point, and the descending tail of a lower case t.

Jose Plecnik himself is a figure with a personal history that says a lot about Central Europe, whose architecture helped define the identity of Slovenia, as well as Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia He also made an important contribution to modernising Vienna. He was born in 1872 in a city then called Laybach, in the Duchy of Carniola, part of the Austrian crown lands, and a province of the Austro Hungarian Empire. In Vienna he was Otto Wagner’s most talented student, but was vetoed from succeeding to his chair at the Academy of Fine Art. After the collapse of the Empire he moved to the newly proclaimed independent state of Czechoslovakia to work for Tomas Masaryk in reshaping Prague Castle as a national landmark, before returning to what by then was Ljubljana in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where he designed the National Library that would define him. He lived long enough to become a respected figure in Communist Yugoslavia. He has become as much a part of the cultural landscape in Slovenia as Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Scotland, and Antoni Gaudi in Catalonia.

The borders of today’s states of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria don’t precisely coincide with those that they had when they were subjects of the two imperial powers. Austro Hungary divided Poland with Russia and Germany. Stalin was in power only in one quarter of Austria, and his successors withdrew altogether in 1955. But if there is a single way to characterise the shared cultural context for what constitutes present day Central Europe it is through two experiences, that of forming part of both the Austro Hungarian and the Soviet empires. It is a definition that also makes Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina quintessentially Central European. At various times these are all places in which design and architecture have been used to project one of two kinds of contradictory messaging. On one hand design has been used to define a heritage, rooted in national romantic CENTRAL EUROPEAN DESIGN IDENTITY

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1930 ● Tatra T77 was designed by Hans Ledwinka as first industrially-produced earodynamic car.

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The borders of today’s states of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the 1990 Czech Republic and Austria don’t precisely coincide with those 2000 that they had when they were subjects of the two imperial powers.

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mythology, on the other to suggest modernity unhindered by tradition.

A rigorous definition of national architectural styles can be elusive. What is the essence of Hungarian architecture for example, when it has such radically different incarnations. Is it to be found in the work of Marcel Breuer born in 1902 in Pecs as a citizen of the dual monarchy, who left Budapest in 1920, studying briefly in Vienna then moving to Weimar and the Bauhaus, to become one of its most famous students. After three years in London he moved to America. Breuer went back to Hungary in 1970 to be awarded an honorary doctorate from Budapest’s University of Technology, even though the Chamber of Engineers had refused his application for a license to practice architecture in Hungary in the 1930s. Pecs has named a street for him, but despite suggestions of important official commissions, he never built anything of consequence in his homeland.

Or is it Imre Makovecz who better represents the idea of Hungarian architecture. He was responsible for Hungary’s 1992 expo pavilion in Seville, when the country had only just emerged from Soviet domination. His work was once a critique of that system, but now looks disturbingly like the personification of what has become central Europe’s least liberal regime.

When Apple with the British born Jony Ive as Chief Design Officer labelled its packaging with the words ‘designed in California’ it became even more difficult to attribute national characteristics to industrial objects. The I Phone is assembled in China with components from a dozen different countries. National stereotypes can easily lapse into cartoon like stereotypes. Is there anything inherently German about a Volkswagen, or is it that we have come to associate it with a particularly German way of making things. A Citroen 2CV was an equally clichéd shorthand for France as much as a beret and a Breton jersey. But perhaps there is an inherently French way of engineering, one that puts old Citroens in the same category as Jean Prouve’s prefabricated houses. Are the signifiers inherent, or are they learned and capable of manipulation.

Can we really describe the Tatra T77 as the high point of Czech car design, given that Hans Ledwinka, the company’s chief designer for 16 years who was born in 1878 in Lower Austria was jailed by Czechslovakia for his collaboration with the Nazi occupation. Car design has now become thoroughly globalised with Tatra giving up car making in 1999, and Skoda aquired by Volkswagen in 2000.

At their most culturally significant moment at the beginning of the 20th century, Prague and Vienna were thriving multicultural, multilingual metropolises.

The states in which they happened to find themselves viewed them with as much suspicion as large parts of Hungary and Poland see Budapest and Warsaw today.

While architecture and design do lend themselves as tools with political uses as a means of constructing an identity, nationalism on the whole has not had a positive impact on metropolitan culture. And it can have schizophrenic results. Rijeka, known to Italian speakers as Fiume, was designated the Hungarian outlet to the Adriatic and Austria had Trieste. Fiume’s opera house was designed by Fellner and Helmer from Vienna, while the railway station was the work of Ference Pfaff from Budapest. Each has its own architectural language and identity.

In Sarajevo, the city hall that served as the Austrian province’s parliament was designed by Karel Panik who Czech by birth. Strangely a 16 th century era 26

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At their most culturally significant moment at the beginning of the 20th century, Prague and Vienna were thriving multicultural, multilingual metropolises.

Mamluk era mosque in Cairo was seen as an appropriate model for Panik’s design for a Bosnian government building. A mosque might have been understood as a concession to Sarajevo’s Islamic heritage; even though the connection between an Ottoman province in Europe and the Arab traditions of Egypt are obscure. It’s a building whose significance has changed radically. What was initially a colonial landmark became a symbol of national renewal once it was rebuilt after its destruction by Serbian forces during the siege of Sarajevo.

There can be no doubt that the meanings of designs and buildings can change over time. In Warsaw, Stalin’s so called gift to the Polish people, the Palace of Culture designed by Lev Rudnev is no longer a symbol of colonial oppression, or a demonstration of Poland’s place in the Russian orbit. It enjoys a level of affection with a radical new generation who have no sympathy for Stalinism.

The Warsaw of 2024 in which Thomas Phifer’s design for the opening of the new Museum of Modern Art is the most significant cultural event of the year, is a very different place from the city it was in 2006. That was the year Christian Kerez won an earlier competition to design the same museum, but never got the chance to build it. In those days the fact that Kerez was Swiss, and Phifer is American mattered a lot. Now it is the quality of the building, and its programmes that counts, not that it was designed by someone born in Poland. It should be said that Kerez was able to build a small apartment complex, the Okamura House in Prague on a site not far from the Adolf Loos villa Muller, suggesting that Prague was more open to outside influences at an earlier date than Warsaw. But in terms of its cultural significance, the new museum promises a lot for the future of Poland’s contribution to the wider world. Museums are the means in which cultural ideas can be communicated, exchanged and developed, and they are one of the reasons that Vienna was a more influential centre for design and architecture than its near neighbours. The Museum for Angewandte Kunst, alongside the design school that was established at the same time have maintained the continuing relevance of the city. The closest institution in the rest of central Europe to match it is in Ljubljana with a Design Bio biennale that dates back to 1964. It also has a design museum with an architectural collection, factors that reflect Slovenia’s strengths in these areas.

Vienna has shown a level of curiosity in its neighbours. The Vienna Design week, established by Tulga Beyerle, now the director of the Hamburg Kunst und Gewerbe museum and Lilli Hollein, since 2021 director of the Museum for Angewandte Kunst in Vienna , were keen to make Slovakia, Czechs, and Croats part of the conversation. It produced a fertile dialogue that has made the new version of design in central Europe closer to the digital than the analogue. A place in which design is as much about asking questions as it is about offering answers.

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2020 ● The Warsaw of 2024 in which Thomas Phifer’s design for the opening of the new Museum of Modern Art is the most significant cultural event of the year.

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CENTRAL EUROPEAN DESIGN IDENTITY

Once the ultimate experiments of their time, now some of the hidden masterpieces of modern Central European design shines back in the new re-editions, telling the stories of famous as well forgotten designers and manufactures. We look at some examples of this exciting design continuity in Central European region.

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Text Adam Štěch

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● RM58 Classic Chair Designed by visionary Polish designer Roman Modzelewski in 1958, RM58 Classic Chair is made from polyester-glass laminate and it was one of the earliest Polish examples of this kind of manufacturing and material use. It is now produced by Polish company Vzor.

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RE-EDITIONS

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● Praha Chandelier This chandelier was originally designed by Czech glass artist Stanislav Libenský for the interiors of Hotel Praha in Prague in 1981. Despite the building was demolished, some of the unique interior elements survived and Czech glass manufacture Lasvit introduced this moduler lighting system as re-edition in 2016.

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RE-EDITIONS

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● Dornstab Floor Lamp Kalmar is a family business producing luxury luminaires and bespoke lighting solutions for projects of distinction since 1881. This freestanding luminaire from 1947 exemplifies iconic look of Kalmar and was created by designers J.T. Kalmar and A. Pöll.

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● Hase BL Floor Lamp Using simple metal tubing and the basic bending process, J.T. Kalmar designed a luminaire with a kinetic yet delicate posture, reminiscenting period work of Alexander Calder and other kinetic artists.

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RE-EDITIONS

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● T2407 Armchair

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The re-edition of the T2407 armchair, originally designed by Viliam Chlebo in 1979, is produced by Prague-based Nanovo. Its modified version is used in the representative spaces of the New Stage of the National Theatre in Prague.

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1980 ● DT85 Home Telephone This iconic Slovakian telephone is still made

by Tesla Stropkov. The Telephone was originally designed by designer Miloš Suchár in 1982. An interesting feature is the distinctive stylistic element – ​​the hole in the earpiece.

Thanks to the hole, the earpiece does not block the sound of the ringing from the ear canal, which is located below it.

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RE-EDITIONS

1920 ● Wassily Chair Also known as the Model B3 chair, it was designed by Marcel Breuer between 1925 and 1926 while he was heading the cabinet-making workshop at the Bauhaus.

His colleague, painter Wassily Kandinsky, admired the design, and Breuer created a replica for Kandinsky’s personal quarters.

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● Small Bowl with Chameleon This glazed ceramic piece by Hungarian artist Géza Gorka measures 27.5 cm in diameter. The bowl is adorned with a chameleon motif, showcasing Gorka's distinctive style that blends modernist aesthetics with nature-inspired elements.

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RE-EDITIONS

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�ULSE 2024 WI�NERS & FINALI�TS

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■ PUBLIC BUILDING

■ RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

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■ RECONSTRUCTION 1990

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Klouboucká lesní Headquarters / Mjölk architekti, 2022, Brumov-Bylnice

Apartments, Warsaw Brewery / JEMS Architekci, 2022, Warsaw

Slovak National Gallery / Architekti BKPŠ Kusý - Paňák, 2023, Bratislava

FINALISTS

FINALISTS

FINALISTS

Polish Army Museum / WXCA studio, 2023, Warsaw

House Max / Caramel Architekten, 2023, Perchtoldsdorf

Pradiareň 1900 textile factory / Almássy Čečetka architekti; Bouda Masár architekti, 2022, Bratislava

Štvanice Footbridge / Atelier Brigde Structures + Blank Architekti, 2023, Prague

Murawa 2 housing estate / Insomia studio, 2023, Poznań

Plato city gallery / KWK Promes, 2022, Ostrava

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■ PUBLIC INTERIOR

■ RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR

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Taproom at the Tenczynek Brewery / Projekt Praga, 2023, Tenczynek

Ovenecká 33 / Objektor architekti, 2023, Prague

FINALISTS

FINALISTS

SOM Store / D415.studio, 2023, Bratislava

The Sculptor's Apartment / Neuhäusl Hunal, 2023, Prague

Library in the Želiv Monastery / Šépka architekti, 2023, Želiv

Flat 29A / Martin Skoček, 2023, Bratislava

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Harmonic vases / Jan Plecháč, 2023

Access glassware set / Mischer'Traxler, 2022

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FINALISTS

Butterfly shelf system / Dalibor Marek, 2023

Risen from the Ashes chandelier / Tadeáš Podracký, 2023

Euphorbia & Papavera door handles / Maria Jeglinska-Adamczewska, 2023

Utopia cultivation unit / Melinda Doktor, 2023

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS & FINALISTS

KL�BOUCKÁ L�SNÍ HEA�QUAR‑ TE�S PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ PUBLIC BUILDING ■ 2022, BRUMOV-BYLNICE

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�JÖLK

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The new headquarters of Kloboucká lesní, with its one thousand square meter footprint, embodies the guiding principles of sustainable design. Current environmental thinking, the untapped potential of an environmental approach to building construction, and further opportunities and challenges awaiting in our future, all manifest themselves in the new building.

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Kloboucká lesní company is continuously paving the way towards sustainable forestry. Finding inspiration in the ways of our ancestors, but also exploring new technologies and possibilities. In a field that is not commonly associated with innovation or bravery, the company identifies as progressive and creative. And their new headquarters building will represent these values. With its various activities, the mission of Kloboucká lesní is to demonstrate the potential of sustainable construction – using a holistic environmental approach and cutting-edge technology.

Due to a major shift in the climatic conditions of our planet, the wood industry has been going through turbulent changes recently. Therefore, the new company headquarters has to be flexible and ready for future developments and change. We propose a place for creative work, research and innovation. The main load-bearing structure forms a modular shell for the building, leaving the interior space free and adjustable, including contingencies for unexpected growth.

The building design shows the way for future construction projects. Environmentally responsible, simple and modest, but equipped with cutting-edge technology – and placed in a natural setting surrounded with vegetation and water. The load-bearing structure is made exclusively from timber, a material that is produced on-site, in the Kloboucká lesní production hall located only a hundred meters away. Wood is the oldest and the simplest of materials, but the production process is very modern. As a flagship product of the company portfolio, glued laminated timber was used for the building frame.

Repeated many times, the traditionally shaped frame forms an elongated and elegant volume.

A prominent location was chosen for the headquarters inside the factory compound. The north-facing façade is oriented toward the town and the visitors' entrance. The volume of the building conceals other industrial halls of the compound, while a beautiful backdrop of the Pláňavský ridge can be seen in the distance.

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Vision Imagine a world where the building materials for your house don’t travel half the way across the globe. Where you know the forest, where the timber for your house came from.

The new Kloboucká lesní headquarters is not just a progressive company office, it’s a laboratory. It studies faster ways of constructing buildings and better ways of working with energy and materials to minimize their environmental impact during their manufacturing, use and disposal at the end of their life cycle. Not a drop of water is wasted, nor a joule of energy lost. Experience is turned into development.

Two thousand wood houses are built in the Czech Republic per year, which equals up to only about 0,5% of the total lumber production in the country. This is a negligible amount. Our mission is to increase this number, tap the potential offered to us, and make buildings sustainable not just in terms of low heating costs.

Considering the current wood-based construction - we want to take a step back, look at the big picture, understand the principles and connections, and then reassemble the process with a new perspective.

Learning about processes that follow after wood production and manufacturing is considered essential for the future development of the Kloboucká lesní company. The firm’s current slogan describes working

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Mjölk is a Czech architecture studio based in Liberec, founded by Jan Mach and Jan Vondrák. Known for their playful yet thoughtful approach, they blend contemporary design with sensitivity to context, often incorporating natural materials and clean, expressive forms.

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with wood as a process starting with planting the seed and ending with a planed board. This is the extent of the firm’s activities. But our experience with the laboratory helped us set our sights further.

We see a new opportunity and new development potential in the sustainable, frugal, and socially responsible philosophy. Today, when the construction industry is paralyzed by excessive bureaucracy, staffing, and material shortages, is the right time to start over.

Sustainably, efficiently, and economically.

Construction The load-bearing structure uses a glued laminated timber frame, a concrete core and steel bracing. There are several types of façade cladding, filling each span of the frame according to the interior spatial and programmatic organisation. The modular structure provides a great variability of use, even in case of future changes of function. The wooden structure is made predominantly from glued laminated timber manufactured only about a hundred meters from the site. This timber comes predominantly from the surrounding forests.

Both colour and grain of the wood were considered when picking the best lumber, and therefore the best forest for felling.

Interior Behind the rather traditional shape of the building with a gable roof, there are many contemporary technological solutions that correspond to today's modern times. The design places great emphasis on the well-being of the employees, which is ensured by the quality working environment in the interior and the variety of covered outdoor living terraces that permeate the entire building.

The interior of the building plays no games.

Conceptually, it is consistent with the overall idea of the building, which emphasizes structural honesty. Inside, it is obvious at first glance how everything works. The basic principles of the interior are apparent even from the exterior. The load-bearing structure of the heavy skeleton runs through the entire building and rhythmically divides the interior. The last level is an open space. It is covered by a sophisticated roof with a solar power plant.

Where the sun's rays cannot reach, the photovoltaic panels are replaced by glass.

The building is spare in terms of materials.

In the interior, glued laminated timber profiles are combined with glass window surfaces, wood panelling, and wood-glass acoustic partitions. These partitions give the interior an open feel. All the glazed walls and the bioboard cladding have sliding bearings in relation to the movement of the timber building.

The timber-concrete ceilings are interspersed into the exposed ceiling structures, which are complemented by polished concrete on the floor. All technology is installed visibly in the interior, with frameless penetrations through the timber partitions.

The principles of the interior are repeated on all floors. The offices are complemented by spaces to be used in the future for creative workshops or as a relaxation space for the company's employees. The top open floor is a multifunctional space for lectures, company events, or new product presentations.

The interior of the building is intended to be an inspiring environment, outlining the principles of

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Kloboucká lesní - a company that is engaged in a very traditional craft, but at the same time is not afraid of new things.

Environmental solutions Truly environmentally conscious building is far more complex than it seems. It doesn’t matter whether we wrap a house in styrofoam. What makes a building sustainable isn’t the thermal insulation standards, but rather where we built it and how we use it. It’s important to appreciate that there really are issues beyond just direct energy requirements. There is a whole set of actions and energy inputs generated during the manufacturing and transport of the individual building parts, then the question of the proper use of the building during its life-span, and last but not least, there needs to be a thorough consideration of what happens at the end of this life-span.

This sort of thinking comes naturally for Kloboucká lesní. Having control over the whole process, guarding quality, supervising each production phase, considering not just profitability but primarily sustainability... This is not just about the processing and selling of wood, this is a complex pursuit. Let’s call it forest care. At the beginning there is a seed, at the end a house.

The system cannot be separated into individual parts, the parts can’t exist on their own.

The building is a combination of contemporary technical solutions and common sense. The building’s PV array produces enough energy to meet its requirements. The building has battery storage with a total capacity of 72 kW. The surplus is directed to cover the energy requirements of the company's production. In fact, the majority of all electronic equipment in the compound is using solar power at the moment. The headquarters’ solar panels also double as roofing material.

Glass panels cover the northern part of the roof to let more light into the attic space.

Rainwater roof runoff is stored in open ponds and used for irrigation and for cooling during the summer months. By reflecting the diffused daylight, the water surface also helps bringing light deeper into the building.

The source for heating of the building and the whole area is the central boiler house, where the main fuel is wood chips of own production. This makes the site completely independent of any other fuel source. The added value is that it is a completely ecological source.

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS

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2000 Member of Jury Monika Arczyńska Architect The headquarters of Kloboucká lesní, designed by the Mjölk studio, impressed the jury with its integration of seemingly opposing values and a beauty that can be perceived through all the senses. It is both a prototype and a finished product. A progressive design inspired by traditional construction. Local in its use of materials and craftsmanship, yet global as an example of a sustainable approach to architecture. It builds the company’s image while also providing comfortable and healthy conditions for the team. As the architects say: ‚It begins with a seed, and ends as a house.‘ Hopefully, their building will be the seed from which many more such designs will grow.

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�PART‑ MENTS WA�SAW BREW�RY PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ■ 2022, WARSAW

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The Brewhouse Apartments, designed by JEMS Architects, stand as a striking example of urban transformation. Situated within the broader Warsaw Breweries redevelopment integrates seamlessly into the surrounding public spaces.

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JEM� A�CHITEKCI

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS

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From a historic brewery to a striking apartment building with a dynamic copper façade, the Brewhouse Apartments stand as a bold symbol of urban transformation in the heart of Warsaw. Designed by the renowned JEMS Architects studio, this residential landmark has become a key element of the broader Warsaw Breweries redevelopment, a project that has redefined a post-industrial site into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood.

The building is distinguished by its kinetic façade, composed of mobile copper-hued shutter panels. These perforated elements lend the architecture a sense of movement and vitality, subtly shifting the building’s appearance throughout the day as residents adjust them to modulate light and privacy. The result is a constantly changing, almost living elevation that animates the urban landscape.

Warsaw Breweries, the surrounding complex, occupies a 4.4-hectare site that once hosted Poland’s largest post-war brewery. Now reimagined as a multifunctional district, it brings together residential, commercial, and recreational spaces. A place to live, work, meet, and unwind. JEMS Architects not only created the masterplan and architectural design of the buildings, but also co-authored the design of the public spaces that knit the area together. Their approach draws inspiration from the site's industrial past while looking firmly to the future.

At the heart of this revitalized district, the Brewhouse Apartments sit at the crossroads of key pedestrian routes and public gathering spaces. Groundfloor retail units and a mirrored passageway – reflecting and connecting the surrounding architecture – reinforce the building’s urban presence. The area around the building is entirely open to the public, framed by three distinctive squares: a quiet neighborhood plaza across the street, a leafy green square behind the former malt house, and the expansive Central Square, currently under construction, which will feature a fountain and host artistic events.

The façade’s operable shutters are filled with a copper-colored aluminum mesh, shimmering in daylight and casting ever-changing shadows. “The movable elements allow the façade to react to the sun and privacy needs of each resident, creating a vibrant and personal expression,” explains architect Katarzyna Kuźmińska of JEMS. Behind the shutters, grey plaster walls serve as a calm, neutral backdrop, while graphite-toned aluminum windows and doors blend seamlessly into the composition, allowing the dynamic copper panels to take visual precedence.

Inside, the building offers 76 apartments in a wide range of sizes, from compact studios to expansive duplex penthouses on the upper floors. Each unit is accessed via one of three carefully detailed stairwells, emphasizing both functionality and architectural quality.

The Brewhouse Apartments embody a thoughtful balance of heritage, innovation, and urban livability – an exemplary model for transforming industrial legacies into vibrant, contemporary places to call home.

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● JEMS Architects (1988)

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Polish architecture studio based in Warsaw. The studio is known for its refined, context-sensitive designs that balance modernity with a respect for urban fabric and tradition, often characterized by clarity, simplicity, and thoughtful materiality.

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2000 Member of Jury Jan Vondrák Architect The apartment building is part of a newly emerging block and has risen on the site of a former malt house, becoming the dominant feature of the area. The structure engages sensitively with the historic brewhouse and laboratory buildings located directly next to it. A rhythmic aluminum façade made of perforated metal wraps the building in a red veil that reflects its structural system while fitting harmoniously into the historical context of the surroundings. The jury praised the building’s integration into the urban fabric, its well-chosen scale, and the quality of the newly created public space. The project demonstrates a modern yet sensitive approach to urban development within a historically layered environment.

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�LOVAK N�TIONAL GALLE�Y PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ RECONSTRUCTION ■ 2023, BRATISLAVA

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�RCHITEKTI BK�Š

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After more than two decades, one of the most debated buildings in the Slovak capital, Bratislava’s brutalist annex to the Slovak National Gallery, designed by architect Vladimír Dedeček, has reopened its doors.

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1920

Walking along the Danube downstream from the iconic UFO Bridge, it’s impossible to miss. This imposing structure, which gains even more volume with height, is wedged between traditional urban buildings. On one side, a residential house from the early 20th century; on the other, a former aristocratic palace from the late 19th.

Dedeček’s addition to the Slovak National Gallery, often referred to as “the Bridge” because of its spanning form, has provoked strong reactions ever since its completion in the late 1970s.

Dedeček conceived the building in a radical manner, no windows, no gables, no doors, stripping it of all familiar architectural features. To the public, it was as if they were looking into a human face without eyes or a mouth. For years, this new landmark in the city center drew sharp criticism. After the fall of communism, calls for its demolition grew louder. What public opinion couldn't accomplish, neglect almost did. The roof began to leak, parts of the interior deteriorated, and the unstable internal climate proved unsuitable for exhibitions. In March 2001, after 21 years in operation, the gallery was closed to the public.

What followed were years of debate, a decision to preserve the building, two architectural competitions, and a long wait for reconstruction to begin. Finally, in mid-December 2022, another 21 years later, the Slovak National Gallery reopened with great fanfare.

The renovation was entrusted to the studio Architekti BKPŠ, led by Martin Kusý and Pavol Paňák.

They restored the building’s original appearance and color scheme while making subtle new interventions.

The annex has retained its stark southern façade facing the river – still without windows – while light flows into the exhibition spaces from skylights on the north side to avoid disturbing the displayed artworks. However, large new windows were inserted into the side gables on the third floor, offering views of the Danube embankment and, to the west, Bratislava Castle.

The reconstruction of “the Bridge” was just one part of a broader restoration and modernization of the gallery complex. In the adjacent former Water Barracks, the architects exposed the original masonry, glazed the arcades, created new public spaces, and improved the site’s connection to the city center. They also designed a new depository building, for which they repurposed aluminum profiles salvaged from the existing structures.

“Our goal was to create an authentic work that unites four centuries of architecture with spaces suited for modern operations and the presentation of our visual culture. Whether and how we succeeded will be revealed by history,” say the architects.

At the very least, the Slovak architectural community has come to appreciate the once-divisive structure, and according to the gallery, public opinion is evolving as well. Better integration with the city is part of the reason – the campus is now open to foot traffic, and admission to the permanent exhibitions is free of charge.

“This is the largest cultural building we’ve started and completed since the revolution. It is our calling card, made possible by the hard work of many: from cultural institutions and the ministry of culture to our colleagues at the Slovak National Gallery, architects, engineers, contractors, builders, and so many others,” said Alexandra Kusá, the former director of the Slovak National Gallery.

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1990 ● Kusý–Paňák / BKPŠ (1991)

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Founded by Martin Kusý and Pavol Paňák, BKPŠ is a prominent Slovak architecture studio. Their work is known for its precise attention to detail and the seamless integration of contemporary design with historical contexts. Design of their projects emphasize clarity, precision, and a deep understanding of the local environment.

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2000 Member of Jury Daniel Kovács Art Historian The Slovak National Gallery by Vladimír Dedeček in Bratislava stands as an emblematic landmark of Central European late modernism. Yet its original grand vision has remained incomplete, fragmented over time. Addressing this fragmentation is the recent, exceptionally well-executed renovation by the architectural studio BKPŠ, which approaches the building with both reverence for its iconic elements and a deep understanding of its role as a home to a living, dynamic institution. Their nuanced, referential architectural language sets a compelling example of international excellence, demonstrating how structures from this era can and should be treated by future generations.

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TAPR�tOM �T TH� TEN�ZYNEK �REWERY PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ PUBLIC INTERIOR ■ 2023, TENCZYNEK

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�ROJEKT PRAG�

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In Tenczynek, near Kraków, the historic brewery has been revitalized into a modern taproom that honors its artisanal roots. Polish architectural studio Projekt Praga transformed the brewery's vaulted brick space into a contemporary yet respectful venue.

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For the past seven years, our studio has been focusing mainly on public buildings, says Marcin Garbacki at the beginning of our conversation. “We take part in major architectural competitions, but this kind of work is a long-distance run. For example, we’ve just completed a student dormitory project for the University of Warsaw, which we started back in 2017, and other projects are still awaiting completion. That’s why we occasionally take on smaller commissions – restaurant or bar interiors – which operate on a completely different timeline.

The effect is immediate, and we can see the results of our work right away.”

Garbacki founded Projekt Praga in 2015 with his partner and colleague, Karolina Tunajek. Since their studio was originally based in Warsaw’s Praga district and their first projects were realized there, the name suggested itself. Even though they later relocated to another part of the city and expanded their team to include 11 more collaborators, there was no reason to change the name.

The early years of their practice were marked by conversions of old industrial buildings. “These were mostly small-scale structures, and our work included analyzing what new functions they could serve. One became an art gallery, another a restaurant. Especially in the beginning, all of our projects had to engage in some kind of dialogue with the existing architecture to connect with the context. For instance, we once built a small house on the roof of an old tenement building, which was quite a wild ride. We also intervened in a post-war modernist building that houses the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. It wasn’t until 2017, when we won the competition to design the Department of Psychology and a student dormitory for the University of Warsaw, that we had the chance to design an entirely new building,” Marcin recalls.

He studied architecture in Warsaw but admits he nearly dropped out after two years. What changed his mind was a one-year internship in Paris, where he realized he truly wanted to pursue architecture. After returning, he completed his studies and briefly worked for Polish architect Stanisław Fischer.

The current form of Projekt Praga suits him well. “With 13 people on our team, we can choose what we want to work on. We focus on public buildings and competitions. We’re not interested in residential projects because they’re dictated by developers, leaving little room for authorship or creative freedom. But we’re also not looking to grow any further.”

Zofia Stachura, who joined the team in 2014, shared the PULSE Award with Marcin for their design of the Tenczynek Brewery taproom, a project she led and one she clearly cherishes. “It’s a small, local brewery located between Kraków and Katowice. They brew craft beer and also produce vodka. We took inspiration from their emphasis on craftsmanship and carried that concept into the interior design wherever possible. We preserved the original vaulted historical space, approaching it with great respect. Rather than reconstructing it, we mostly stripped away unwanted layers and aimed to use as many natural materials as we could. You’ll find handmade ceramic tiles, clay lamp shades, wooden flooring, and furniture designed by Artur Czajka. The lamp hanging by the entrance is a piece by a Warsaw-based artist, and other local artisans made the metal elements.

Everything was crafted in Poland according to our designs,” Zofia explains.

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● Projekt Praga (2010)

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Warsaw-based architecture studio was founded in 2010 by Karolina Tunajek and Marcin Garbacki.The studio is renowned for its thoughtful revitalization projects and public spaces that blend contemporary design with historical context. Their work emphasizes detailed analysis, community engagement, and sustainable practices, aiming to create meaningful and enduring architectural solutions.

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The newly completed student dormitories in Warsaw, mentioned earlier, are currently nominated for a PULSE Award in the Public Building category. Students have already moved in and are enjoying the first new university housing built in the Polish capital in fifty years.

The studio won the architectural competition despite technically deviating from the brief, which called for a square footprint with an internal courtyard. “Instead, we designed the wings in a cross shape to better integrate with the surroundings, adding features like bike storage and semi-enclosed public plazas. The interiors feature exposed concrete and wood, with a color palette similar to the one used in Tenczynek. We arranged simple linear light fixtures into geometric compositions.”

In addition to private rooms, the dormitories offer generous shared kitchens, study areas, and lounges. Another new building, the Department of Psychology at the University of Warsaw, also designed by Zofia Stachura, is due for completion in the coming months.

“Polish psychology has a solid international reputation, so it certainly deserves a building that reflects its importance,” say the architects.

When I ask why Poland has seen such a surge in public architecture projects in recent years, especially compared to the Czech Republic, both architects offer a straightforward answer: “Because we’ve been lacking them,” Marcin says. “Schools, universities, museums, galleries. In contrast, the Czech Republic has a wealth of beautiful architecture.” Our conversation quickly turns to more personal topics: how his mother used to bring him sports shoes and ice skates from Czechoslovakia, his current love for Festka bikes, and his admiration for Czech design and architecture. He especially values what he sees as a uniquely Czech ability to enjoy life – a trait he attributes to secularism, which he finds deeply liberating.

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The text about Projekt Praga was published in the December issue of Dolce Vita magazine.

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1990 Member of Jury Magdalena Rochová Architect From the beginning, this project was my favorite, although I didn’t expect the other jurors to share my opinion. It’s an excellent concept, an interplay between the old and the new, a dialogue of rawness and perfection.

Artistically, it’s a beautifully executed design, blending brick-red tones on both walls and ceilings with furnishings made from natural oak, metal, mirrors, and glass lighting artifacts. Particularly successful is the use of ceramic lamps crafted specifically for this project. I was especially captivated by the contrast between the raw brick walls and vaulted ceilings and the finely detailed, precision-made furniture. A lovely moment came on the day of the awards ceremony when I had the chance to meet the creators – wonderfully charismatic people.

Pulse is doing an amazing service for architecture by giving us the opportunity to compare what’s happening beyond our borders. And it’s impossible not to notice how impressively Polish architecture is advancing.

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�VENECKÁ 33 PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR ■ 2023, PRAGUE

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OBJEKTO� AR�HITEKTI

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Ovenecká 33 is a residential project in Prague's Letná district, blending private living with artistic expression. Conceived by creative producer and curator Tereza Porybná, the space serves as both her home and a venue for art residencies, exhibitions, and social gatherings.

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1920

Creative concept All my life I have been interested in connecting people and exploring the permeability of different boundaries – whether interpersonal, cultural, genre, or species. I enjoy playing on the edges. Similarly, within the design of Ovenecká 33, we experimented with different stylistic elements and the boundaries between private and public space. I knew right away that I wanted to create a space that was shared, open, and permeable, while still containing hidden corners and secrets. A space where you never have to return along the same route. A space that is distinctive, yet always changing, like a gallery or theatre stage, or like me. I was lucky to find an architect who understood my ideas. At first, I referred to the work of Luis Barragán, Valentina Schlegel or Bijoy Jain for inspiration, but gradually the architectural design broke away from these great inspirations and the apartment found its own voice and identity. We incorporated various oddities and materialized childhood dreams into the minimalist base; for example, a home throne, a kitchen that looks like a cave, or a secret doorway in the library.

I had the opportunity to involve various co-creators, designers, artists, and friends in our eclectic play and participate in their interventions. It was through these small experiences, such as sorting through pieces of stone that then became a painting on the terrazzo floor, dyeing yarn into jacquard, or assembling glass mosaics, that I was able to better understand different creative processes and crafts, as well as understand the objects that now surround me in my home. It is important for me to know the story of my apartment so that I can share it and invite creators to artist residencies through which the apartment continues to change.

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● Objektor (2017) Objektor is a Czech architecture studio founded by Václav Šuba and Jakub Červenka during their studies at the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague. The studio is known for its collaborative approach, working closely with artists, designers, and clients to create thoughtful, context-sensitive designs that push the boundaries of conventional architecture.

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Member of Jury Arianna Lelli Mami Interior Designer

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What I appreciated most about the Ovenecká 33 apartment project was not only the use of volumes and materials and the fluid approach to interior space, but above all the unique experience where public and private spheres intertwine, creating an innovative vision of the interior.

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS

HAR�ONIC PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ PRODUCT DESIGN ■ 2023

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JA� �LECHÁČ

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Moser's Harmonic vases, designed by Jan Plecháč, are inspired by natural phenomena like morning mist and dewdrops. Each piece reflects a commitment to quality and artistry, embodying both elegance and functionality.

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS

1920

At once modern collector’s items and essential elements of everyday living, the Harmonic vases embody both exceptional craftsmanship and a striking contrast between delicately hand-cut lines and a solid base.

Their oval shape invites playful floral arrangements, while these new creations from Karlovy Vary glassmakers bring a radiant touch to any interior. The face of the Harmonic collection is ballerina Miho Ogimoto, a choice that underscores the beauty, delicacy, and fragility at the heart of Moser’s latest designs.

“A vase that captures fleeting moments of natural harmony and brings them into your home – morning mist, the pink glow of dawn, or dewdrops on a blooming meadow – these ephemeral shades are brought to life through the precise hand-cut patterns of our master glassmakers, offering a new perspective on the world,” reveals Harmonic's designer, Jan Plecháč.

The Harmonic collection is available in two sizes, two color variations, pink opal and smoky green, and in either a matte or glossy finish. The pink opal draws inspiration from the original color palette of Leo Moser, the glassworks’ technical and artistic director at the end of the 19th century. The smoky green introduces a new direction led by current artistic director Jan Plecháč, who added this shade to Moser’s iconic color range.

The characteristic lines, known as špule, are created through meticulous hand-cutting using the traditional kulich technique. Every cut reflects the movement of the human hand and carries the craftsmanship and artistry of Moser’s skilled glassmakers.

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● Jan Plecháč x Moser (2022) In 2022, renowned Czech designer Jan Plecháč became the creative director of Moser glassworks. His mission is to bridge the brand’s rich artisanal heritage with contemporary design and to reintroduce Moser’s crystal into modern everyday life.

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2000 Member of Jury Maroš Schmidt Director, Slovak Design Center What captivated me about this vase collection is its blend of romantic timelessness, carefully considered contrast, and traditional handcraftsmanship of the highest quality. These exceptionally valuable attributes had, for a time, faded from the design world, making their return in this collectible piece a refreshing delight. The overall form of the object – striking and proportionally balanced – creates space for a fresh interplay of light, layered compositions, and dynamic reflections that highlight its timeless beauty. All of these elements share a common denominator: perfection. Personally, I would love to have at least one of these pieces in my home.

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PULSE 2024 WINNERS

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�CCESS DRI�KING S�T PULSE 2024 ■ WINNER ■ EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN ■ 2022

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�ISCHER’ TR�XLER

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Vienna-based studio mischer’traxler won the debut PULSE award in the category of experimental design for their drinking set Access, confronting people with the global distribution of drinking water during using it.

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Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler founded their studio mischer‘traxler in 2009 after graduating from Design Academy in Eindhoven. The Vienna-based couple belonged to the new generation of designers exploring the boundaries of their discipline through technology, craft and process of the production which allo them to comment and present wide selection of important cultural and social topics. “We are balancing between handcraft and technology. Our studio envisions whole systems, new production methods and kinetic or interactive installations that question topics, tell stories or open up new ways of doing things. We examine, experiment, analyse and reject. Our results are often playing with uniqueness, and some of our projects are poetic records that interact with the viewer and evoke unexpected reactions. By using our outcomes as well as a mean of communication, we try to show that design can be functional, good and beautiful not just in objects but as well in the ideas they represent,” they describe their praxis.

Some designers of this generation, including mischer‘traxler take motive of the craft to the extreme in the sense that they essentially create their own craft for the creation of a certain object. In some cases, it may involve an innovative material, in others, an unorthodox procedure and processing of the material or their own production line, or a special machine producing a specific product in a refined process. The pioneers of this direction Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler have already huge experience in it. The designers are developing systematic investigative research on how to create production processes inspired by the naturalness of nature or the behavior of our own society. For example their already iconic project called Idea of a Tree is a kind of production line for furniture pieces consisting of a solid tube on which yarn is systematically wound. The entire machine reacts to the intensity of sunlight. If there is enough sunlight, the yarn in the line becomes more intensely colored, and vice versa.

Similar complex thinking about our environment is characteristic for their winning project Access, produced by Vetreria Simone Cenedese and Eugenio Panizzi and commissioned by Punta Conterie for Forms of Drinking exhibition, curated by Elisa Testori. Access water glassware is a set of 6 drinking glasses which bring design to activism. “It confronts the people dining, with the global distribution of clean drinking water. Each glass represents a specific region and translates the available percentage of clean water access. The base and the cup part of each glass make up together 100 percent. The transparent part shows the safely accessible drinking water. Whilst the colored base, refers to a limited access of water, the engraved lines on the bottom stand for the unimproved amount in that region. For example Sub Saharan Africa 30%; Europe and Northern America 96%; Western Asia & Northern Africa 79%; Latin America 75%; Central & Southern Asia 62%; World average 74%. We often take clean and fresh tap-water for granted - maybe we should see it more often in relation to other areas, to cherish it more and use it in a respectful way,” say designers who created beatifully crafted object and critical tool to address the importan issue of our global community at the same time.

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● mischer’traxler (2009)

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Based in Vienna, mischer’traxler studio was established by Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler. Their work explores the intersection of design, art, and technology, often resulting in poetic, research-driven projects that reflect on sustainability, process, and the hidden beauty of everyday systems.

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Member of Jury Judit Horváth Curator

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The central focus of the PULSE in Prague in 2024 was sustainability. Fitting perfectly into this context was the winning project of the Product Design Art/Experimental award, the Access – water glassware set of drinking glasses designed by the Viennese mischer’traxler studio, founded by Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler.

In this glassware set, aesthetics and the environmental policy that affects us all are present in perfect harmony.

The glassware ensemble comprises a data visualization created with first-class craftsmanship, which brings one of the most serious problems of the Earth’s inhabitants, the global drinking water shortage, directly to our table. Each piece of the set of six glasses is constructed according to the percentage of that region’s safely accessible drinking water supply. The capacity of the glasses is larger or smaller than the base in proportion to the water deficit in the given area. Data visualization is becoming increasingly common in tableware within the product design field, naturally providing data that can no longer be swept off the table. These objects provide us with opportunities to give voice to the topic as often as possible, even in unexpected situations.

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INTE�VIEW WIT�

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● Studiopepe (2006)

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Studiopepe, an architecture and design studio was founded in Milan by Chiara Di Pinto and Arianna Lelli Mami, specializes in luxury retail, hospitality, residential spaces, and product design.

Renowned for its sophisticated and eclectic design philosophy, the Studio adopts a visionary and multidisciplinary approach in all of its projects. These include grand-scale creations in the fields of retail and hospitality, the design of showrooms, boutiques, and fair booths, the study of interiors for private homes, and last but not least, product design.

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● Lazybones Lazybones is a sculptural chair with archetypal shapes, characterized by three oversized, solid and imposing legs, designed for Baxter. Its massive silhouette interacts fluidly with the rounded and generous shapes. As in a primitive architecture, it shows a contrasting interplay between massive, totemic volumes, and softness and comfort.

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�RIANNA LELLI �AMI

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1970 ● Arianna Lelli Mami (1975) is one of two founders of Studiopepe.

She studied Milan Politecnico School and now works as the architect, interior designer and furniture designer.

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OF �TUDIO PE�E Text Adam Štěch Photo Archiv Studio Pepe Portrait Martin Faltejsek CZ

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INTERVIEW WITH ARIANNA LELLI MAMI

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During last year's PULSE Awards ceremony in Prague, 1930 we talked to one of the head judges Arianna Lelli Mami, one part of prolific Milan-based 1940 interior Studiopepe.

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With your design partner Chiara, you both studied at Politecnico in Milan. How did this school influence your career and perspective on design?

At the time, Politecnico was not really practical school at all and was more focused on theory and concept. We learnt how to think about space and environment. We had a lot of sciences, including anthropology, history of arts. And all of that wide spectrum of knowledge made our brain work in context and not do design only according to the visual and stylistic side. This came later. Because when we came out of Politecnico, we did not have our own style.

How did you develop your own style?

First, we started to work with magazines doing editorial design and scenography sets for photography. For us, it was very interesting. It was a playground for us, because it allowed us to think in many layers of creativity about the space, style, and curation. It was for sure very different from working for a client. After that we started to design furniture pieces and interiors.

So the scenography for magazines was actually your first activity after school?

Yes, and we liked that. It was a long period of experiments which we could not afford in standard interior projects later on. We were different in this, because a lot of our friends went to work at some bigger studios after school and they had to work for somebody else. But we had certain freedom doing styling for magazines. We did not want to work in some big studio. So the styling was a nice alternative and we learnt a lot of new things about design during that period. We understood design, trends, collaborations…

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And when did the idea about designing on your own come about?

We started to do interiors for shops first.

And it was always about good pieces for the space. We always started to design some good product and then designed the interior around it. It was a very organic process.

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How big is your studio now and what is its structure?

We are 12 people. We are designers, architects, producers and managers.

You mentioned that you did not have any style when you started your career. But you have developed it. How? It is hard to say. Because style is sometimes very ephemeral. Sometimes, the style of some designer is visible more from the outside and the others see it, but actually not the designer or architect herself. And I think it is good like that. Otherwise it can be a sort of cage which closes you in predefined space. I think it should allow you to be free.

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Italian design culture is the strongest one in the world.

How did this historical context influence you?

Yes, of course. We looked at the various masters' work, for sure. We love mostly interior designers, like Gae Aulenti and Carlo CZ

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● Hermès

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Studiopepe was called by the French maison Hermès to rethink the concept and the architectural project for a new boutique devoted to accessories and the new beauty collection. The Studio concieved an omogeneous cocoon embodying a novel concept of luxury, comfortable and intimate at once, this space is defined by sinuous shapes and earthy tones.

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● Torii Love The Torii Love console is characterized by an imposing physicality, inspired by the Japanese architecture of shrine portals – the torii, precisely: an element with a strong symbolic value, traditionally in lacquered wood.

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INTERVIEW WITH ARIANNA LELLI MAMI

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● Avart Boutique Studiopepe designed Avart Boutique in Lugano using exquisite and precious materials, such as onyx or casted glass.

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Scarpa. We love mostly the 1970s and 1980s period which influenced us in mixing materials and details.

Today, you design products, as well as interiors. What is the biggest difference between these two disciplines and how they are related to each other?

They are two different jobs, but very closely related. When we design a piece, we are always thinking where we would put the piece, how the product could work in everyday life and how it would influence the space around it.

Did you design some specific one-off products for special interiors?

We do it sometimes, mostly in the retail section. We like to work with small brands where we can directly talk to the owners and convince them to produce some unique piece of design which gives the space its identity. We are now doing a house as well. Where clients asked us to design special pieces too. So it is happening and maybe more and more for us.

You are based in Milan. Could you imagine being based somewhere else?

The strength of Milan is that there is a huge community of people who, at the end of the day, want to do something great. Another key point is that we have Brianza, where all the factories and workshops are located.

This is very helpful. Milan is international, but local too. It is great.

And how did you feel about how Milanese design culture and scene had changed over the last two decades when you were in business?

When I graduated from the school, all Salone del Mobile was mostly about big international names like Marc Newson, Marcel Wanders, Bouroullec Brothers, Jamese Irvine. It was beautiful, but at the same time, we did not have so many local Italian designers involved. But it changed a lot. And the new generation of Italian designers is growing fast and now we have a lot of designers like us, who work not only on products, but also interiors. I think it is specific to our scene, which is influenced by the roots of Italian modernist design and ethos of universal thinking from the products, to interiors and finally architecture.

I believe you are right. Because I see many young Milan-based interior designers like you, Hannes Peer, Studio Eligo and others who are bringing back the golden age of Italian decorative arts.

Yes, it is true. The other significant feature of it is that we are less industrial and more craft oriented. When we were studying, the design was all about technical mastery and industrial minimalism. And now it is more related to interior and craft and materials than technology.

we should create them. It is something too trendy. It became too much and kitsch. Of course, you have to accept trends but embrace them with something truly yours.

You have recently collaborated with numerous companies and clients. But which ones of recent projects stand out for you?

We had two great collaborations recently. One was for furniture maker Gallotti & Radice. We were approached to create a concept for their showrooms. We developed biodegradable tiles from cellulose to clad the walls of their showrooms, but it was so successful that we started to produce them as a product. It was great because we liked all aspects of the project, including craft, sustainability and interior. The second collaboration is really exciting. We became creative directors of outdoor furniture maker Exteta. We just did a booth at Salone for them, interior of the Milan showroom and also art direction of its catalogue and visual presentation.

Are you also collaborating with some international clients?

Yes, we recently have some new clients from Turkey and Spain. But we want to have more.

PULSE awards and conference is about connecting creative disciplines with design, interiors and architecture to become one scene. Are you personally thinking of going beyond and designing a house for example?

We already did a complex reconstruction of one house. One day, I would like to do some project of the small cottage which could be closer to design thinking than actual architecture. But we also designed the complex interior of the hotel and we really liked it. I hope we will make more projects like this.

Do you feel that interior design as a discipline has a better reputation today? Because it stands somewhere in between architecture and product design and was maybe a bit neglected by architects on one side and designers on the other. Do you think that interior design has a better position today?

I think yes. Especially in Italy during the 1990s, we had very similar interiors. All architects used the same products to furnish the interiors. Today, the scene is much richer and interior design has various distinctive forms. I think it is blooming now.

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Do you believe in trends in design?

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INTERVIEW WITH ARIANNA LELLI MAMI

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�OW GOO� DE�IGN COM�S T� LI�E

Text Jakub Pollág

● Jakub Pollág (1989)

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A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, a founding member of the deFORM design studio and the zeitgeist.limited brand. His work can be described as a constant search for innovative forms and as a tireless effort to place maximum emphasis on the functionality of the product. Significant are his honest and elegantly designed details for his work - a closer look reveals his love for craftsmanship.

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“An excellent product can only come to life when the right manufacturer meets the right designer,” explained designer Jakub Pollág during his talk at last year’s PULSE conference in Ostrava.

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Bringing a mass-produced product to market is a team sport. Product development passes through many hands and departments, where the baton is passed not only between individuals but also between specialized teams. A successful product isn't just the result of one brilliant creative mind or the reputation of a company that can sell anything. A successful product is the work of a sophisticated orchestra of professionals that can play a perfect symphony only when it has the best soloists and a conductor with a clear vision. And this is often the problem with companies – the belief that they can “handle it” on their own. That they don’t need to invest in an external creative because they believe such a person will only complicate things with unrealistic demands.

And that, after all these years, no one knows the product better than they do.

Today, we are dealing with a complex market because each of us has complex expectations. We no longer choose products based only on our initial emotional response or price. We care about origin, materials used, how a company treats its employees, what the brand represents and at the same time, the product must fulfill the most important criteria: form and function. That’s why it’s essential that from the very beginning of product development, four foundational pillars are firmly in place so we can continue to build upward.

Good Design The physical aspect of the product. But it doesn’t work like this: a designer has a great product and hands it over to company A or B, and it just works. Good design is not only about exceptional creativity—it comes from understanding the customer, the brand the designer is working for, knowledge of material limitations and available production processes, support for the brand’s strategy, and thinking about the future to help guide the brand toward further growth.

Excellent Manufacturing A pillar long overlooked due to imported products. But those days are over, and every customer now appreciates quality. The right material for the right purpose, labor and material savings through smart production methods, innovation through deep R&D, avoiding unnecessary details, and perhaps most importantly, choosing eco-friendly production processes and materials. (Try googling where formaldehyde is commonly found in furniture and what it does to your health.)

Exceptional Marketing Marketing used to be a bit of a dirty word, mostly because it often wasn’t honest. It had to save products that weren’t well designed or manufactured. The only salvation for such a product is to avoid mentioning it at all and instead talk about the emotions it evokes. If I were to define marketing, I’d say it’s the mastery of presenting the product in the right place, at the right time, to the right people, and with the right approach.

Outstanding Sales and Customer Service The art of selling has largely moved online.

We want an optimized online store full of beautiful photos that clearly show what we’re buying. A website with a flawlessly designed user interface that runs smoothly and includes all the necessary information: 3D models for architects, dimensions and technical sheets detailing everything—even the size of the packaging so we know it’ll fit through the door upon delivery. And when we need help, we want to speak with a professional, not a chatbot. A great partner in sales support who enhances the entire shopping experience. If we can also add a beautiful showroom with friendly staff where we can touch the product, we’ve almost won.

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HOW GOOD DESIGN COMES TO LIFE

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If we now focus on the designer, who is at the beginning of the process, what exactly can a designer help a company with? The list is long, of course, and every designer has a different specialization and skillset. That’s why choosing the right designer for the current needs of the company is absolutely crucial. Chemistry between parties is the first criterion. Trust must be built, because the collaboration process can be winding and thorny, and at times it may push the limits of each partner’s willingness. The advantage is that if we involve a designer from the very beginning, they can help us build a solid foundation for our pillars.

What a Designer Can Do: ● Create added value. ● Capture the customer’s attention. ● See potential where the brand cannot. ● Propose clever manufacturing solutions. ● Support marketing efforts. ● Help reduce waste. ● And much more.

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Below, we’ll present a few example personality and skill combinations of creatives you might encounter on the market.

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An Architect who designs products

An Uncompromising industrial designer

Will integrate your new product directly into their planned architectural projects.

Will ensure every production process runs smoothly – cutting material costs, production time, and human resources.

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1970 Design 16 %

Manufacturing 5%

Marketing 11 %

Sales 68 %

Design 24 %

Manufacturing 64 %

Marketing 11 %

Sales 1%

1980 A Celebrity designer

An Analytical designer

Everyone wants to see their latest creation. Magazines will gladly and freely feature your product in editorial coverage.

Driven by research, fascinated by materials and manufacturing processes.

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Design 23 %

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HOW GOOD DESIGN COMES TO LIFE

We visited three traditional workshops in Vienna and investigated the long-time legacy of the Viennese craft and its support from main Vienna design event.

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VI�NNA �RAFT TRA�ITION

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Vienna played a significant role in development of modern architecture and design since Otto Wagner formulated his seminal ideas in his book Modern Architecture in 1896 and Josef Hoffmann with Koloman Moser pioneered a relationship between art, craft and business in their important work behind Wiener Werkstätte, founded in 1903. This enterprise of modern design production followed rich cultural and craft legacy of Vienna, which hides centuries old workshops and businesses until today. Most of these small brands operates like family-owned compenies over the centuries. Their expertise is based on the long specific craft traditions. But due to fresh design projects, these workshops did not get stuck in their own history, but they writing the new chapter of it with the help of contemporary designers.

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2020 Text Adam Štěch Photos Adam Štěch and Archive of the Companies and Vienna Design Week CZ

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● Bronzit (1912) Geometric simplicity characterizes famous drinking set Bronzit, designed by architect Josef Hoffmann for Lobmeyr in 1912

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VIENNA CRAFT TRADITION

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THE ROLE OF PASSIONSWEGE

This transition from pure history and traditinal craft to the contemporary pioneering projects of such companies would not be possible without Vienna Design Week, founded in 2006 by curators Thomas Geisler, Lilli Hollein and Tulga Beyerle. Since the beginning Vienna Design Week was one of the more local and intimate events of its kind, but always with the important international overlap. Since the beginning, the Vienna festival has not focused on the classic trade fair format, but rather on smaller-scale and curatorially much more interesting projects that combine the local tradition of crafts, design and applied art with contemporary experimental and cosmopolitan creations.

In 2007, Vienna Design Week introduced original project called Passionswege, which every year connects the strengths of traditional Viennese craftsmen and companies with several contemporary European designers. They are given the opportunity to use the craftsmanship and traditions of these Austrian brands and respond to their skills, history, style and philosophy in a completely contemporary way. And there is many to choose of. In Vienna, many of these small workshops survived the generations and still operates. Among them are glass producer Lobmeyr, silver workshop Wiener Silber Manufacture, porcelain manufacture Augarten, traditional shoe producer Rudolf Scheer & Söhne, metalsmith workshop Carl Auböck and many others.

Since the beginning of the Passionswege, many already famous designers contributed to the project, mostly at the beginnings of their careers, including Czech, Polish and Slovakian designers as well. For example Maxim Velčovský created his impressive installation Glass Cities in collaboration with the glassworks Lobmeyr, while Lucie Koldová created an armchair for the tie manufacturer Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe. Since then, other talents of contemporary Central European design have been selected for Passionswege, including Klára Šumová, deFORM studio, DECHEM, Tomek Rygalik or Tomáš Král.

“Passionswege is the backbone of our entire programme. When Lilli Hollein, Tulga Beyerle and Thomas Geisler founded Vienna Design Week in 2007, the initial idea was to bring together the rich legacy of historic artisan companies who have miraculously managed to survive within the urban fabric and the centre of Vienna. These companies are the lifeblood of contemporary design which, in turn, can offer them an opportunity for regeneration. The vital aspect, written into the DNA of Passionswege, is that there is always some form of dialogue. It is neither a case of the companies telling the designers what to do or asking them to design a product in order to sell more, nor do the designers tell the company how to produce. There is always dialogue, at times difficult, other times less so. There are those who immediately understand the spirit of the project, while others need to be accompanied,” said current director of Viennna Design Week in 2018, when he was first appointed as a co-curator of the event which connects few traditonal workshops with contemporary designers each year during Vienna Design Week. The outcome is a dynamic platform for presenting contemporary design tendencies in the context of rich cultural and craft history of Vienna. Projects which are born out of these connections of traditions and experiments are fresh interpretations of craft which would not be realized without the support of Vienna Design Week and its curators. Some of the successful collaborations later continued with standard collections within companies portfolios.

● Augarten Prague design studio Dechem created a collection of vases and lamps reinterpreting the porcelain and glass tradition of Augarten, one of Europe’s oldest companies, during Passionswege 2016.

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GLASS LEGEND OF LOBMEYR

The most stable of all Vienna-based traditonal producers within Passionswege is glass manufacture Lobmeyr which debuted in the project already in 2007. Since then Lobmeyr participated many times and engaged various contemporary designers, including Bertille & Mathieu who created one of the most radical interpretation of Lobmeyr glass in 2013. “They are sweet as their project,” said one of the current Lobmeyr owners Leonid Rath about Swiss designers Bertille & Mathieu and their collaboration. “The project is great. It is a platform for our own reflection and possibility to experiment. We participated since beginning.” said Leonid Rath who with his cousins runs glass manufacture Lobmeyr founded by his ancestors in 1823.

Famous for glass chandeliers for Metropolitan Opera in New York or glassware from Josef Hoffmann or Adolf Loos, Lobmeyr collaborated with the young experimental designers in past years very intensively. During Passionswege, Lobmeyr worked with Maxim Velčovský, Max Lamb, Martino Gamper, Mark Braun or Philippe Malouin. “In the lat years we have focused part of our production on design and production of simple, yet contemporary pieces for everyday use. But on the other hand, the experiments with Passionswege give us great possibility to look at our identity with the new perspective,” added Leonid.

In 2013, Lobmeyr participated with the help of Lausanne-based design duo Bertille & Mathieu. Bertille Laguet and Mathieu Rohrer created concept of Lobmeyr Experimental Sweet Factory based on the production of sweets and candies with the imprints of the famous Lobmeyr pieces. For 10 days, designers set up their own production line directly inside the Lobmeyr store in the center of Vienna where they produced different types and shapes of candies from the scratch.

Glucose syrup and bergamot, cinnamon or chestnut flavors stored in the exclusively designed packaging included the main ingredients of this food and design performance.

Even such an performative experimental approach can be seen during Passionswege and can stimulate companies to do better. Since then, Lobmeyr also collaborated on many more standard projects that found their place in the collection, including drinking sets by Ted Muehling, studio Polka, Marco Dessi, Formafantasma, Martino Gamper, Robert Standler and Michael Anastassiades. Together with their historical collections, they create a continuity of design and craft legacy for new century.

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2020 ● Lobmeyr One of the oldest glass manufacture Lobmeyr still occupies its historical workshops at Salesianergasse 9.

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VIENNA CRAFT TRADITION

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2020 ● Carl Auböck Family-run company Carl Auböck produces its brass objects at its workshop at Bernardgasse. It also includes its historical archive.

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FOUR GENERATIONS OF CARL AUBÖCK

The different example of such a traditional Vienna company is workshop of Carl Auböck. They did participate in Passionswege only little, but the contemporary tendencies of design also influenced their current production. The history of the Auböck family is a great story of art, design, and craft, which culminated primarily in the post-war era with worldwide faith in a better future and optimism squarely in the background. Optimism is reflected in the periods design of new soft organic forms, which replaced pre-war austerity and coldness. Thus, we come to Carl Auböck workshops, which accepted organic decorative aesthetics in the 1950s and adjusted them to the production of metal parts, carried out by the family since the 19th century at Bernardgasse 23.

In 1926, the founder’s son Carl Auböck joined the workshop and started step by step to shift traditional decorative production in a different direction. These are the origins of the typical “Auböck” style.

Even though Carl Auböck died as early as 1957, he accomplished many masterly works of applied art that still document the unique combination of modernist design, traditional craftsmanship, and the picturesque qualities typical of all his works. Auböck never limited himself to small decorative objects such as statuettes, table accessories, wire vases, and other small products, extending his activities into the field of furniture and lighting design as well. “My Grandfather was often inspired by surrealism and the aesthetics of found objects, so called readymades. For this reason, the famous series of tables with tops made from found pieces of wood and lamps with cow horns was created,” says architect Carl Auböck, who takes care of the family’s tradition, describing one of the creative impulses of his grandfather.

The Carl Auböck workshops, which still features 150-year-old vises and other precious artifacts, did not only manufacture designer products in the 1950s.

Carl Auböck’s son Carl was also an excellent designer and architect who steered design production towards new minimalism and strictness in the 1960s and 70s.

However, he was not only bound to his own workshop only and made designs for several industrial brands.

These designs include e.g. the Form 2060 cutlery set designed for the brand of Amboss Besteck.

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The family tradition today continues with Carl IV, who manages the family company and produces a whole range of its classical designs of three generations of Carl Auböcks, but also initiates contemporary collaborations with like Formafantasma and Michal Anastassiades. London-based designer and master of contemporary minimalism, Anastassiades drinks freshly-milled coffee every day. For many years, he was thinking about creating a coffee mill that would enhance his daily ritual. When he eventually thought up a design for the perfectly engineered mill, he called his old friend Carl Auböck.

Together they launched their first series of brass and copper mills at the cafe of Auböck‘s daughter – Zola Auböck café – with the help of Nina Hertig of Sigmar London in 2017. The silhouette of the mill references Anastassiades‘s iconic lighting designs. Carved from solid pieces of brass and copper, the massive cylindrical shape niftily hides the elaborate mechanism inside.

‘It is the first coffee mill with a gear’, mentions Auböck.

Anastassiades decided against a classic handle and instead created smaller ratio cylinder as a holder for the piece, and because of this, he had to use a gear to get a smoother, more seamless movement for the milling. The result is a sculptural statement that adds a little poetry and elegance to a daily routine. The copper and brass versions have been made in a limited edition of 10 pieces. Even such a small collaboration brings fresh air into Auböcks old workshop which will be run by the fifth generation of Carls already in near future.

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VIENNA CRAFT TRADITION

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The Hungarian capital is known mainly for its unified yet diverse historicised city centre and beautifully restored buildings, but there is no shortage of contemporary buildings. However, there is still a lot of untapped potential.

Text László Bagi

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2020 ● House of Music (2021) The House of Hungarian Music (Sou Fujimoto Architects), in the heart of the City Park of Budapest, is not only a museum but a larger vision encompassing past and future, people and culture, nature, and the sciences of music.

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TH� �EST I� Y�T T� COM�?

● László Bagi Hungarian journalist writing for Forbes Hungary, focusing on business, technology, and sustainability. In 2023, he won a Siemens Media Award for his article on environmentally friendly garbage trucks.

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2020 ● Palatinus Bath and Thermal (2017) Reconstructed by Archikon Architects seamlessly integrates modern functionality with the historic design of István Janáky's 1937 building.

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BUDAPEST – THE BEST IS YET TO COME?

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Around 1900, Budapest was a vibrant city, growing at an incredible pace. The capital of the country, it was also the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, connected to half of Europe by the Danube and connecting the whole Carpathian Basin through its railway stations.

During the “Gründerzeit” period, factories and industrial plants opened in succession, and one of the world’s largest milling centres, along with Minneapolis, was built on both banks of the river. An architecturally diverse, yet unified historicist downtown, with neo-Renaissance apartment buildings, the neo-Gothic Parliament and the Art Nouveau masterpiece, the Museum of Applied Arts, was born. With the new bridges, the two sides, Buda and Pest, have slowly become a single, common urban fabric. Its cafés, theatres and cabarets were bustling, its elegant hotels attracted travellers, and flâneurs filled the promenade along the banks, the Danube embankment and the elegant Andrássy Avenue. Of all European cities, only Berlin has developed faster.

A century later, at the turn of the millennium, it is largely a grey and dilapidated memory, the once vibrant metropolis a sad “wannabe western” post-socialist metropolis. But at least it is a city: Budapest was unlucky, declared a fortress during the years of the Second World War, shelled, bombed countless times, and many people and buildings alike were victims of the street fighting of the 1956 revolution.

Around 2000, ten years after the fall of the regime, the city still seems to have not woken up. At that time you could still find plenty of houses with bullet holes and smoke-blackened facades as mementos – today, you really have to look for such houses. The second half of the twentieth century left us with few truly valuable works of art. Not that we didn’t have talented architects during the years of socialism, but mediocrity, cheapness, low-quality construction and the ideal of homo sovieticus, who always lived frugally, meant that few innovative buildings of lasting value were built. It is another matter that the few that are really worth saving are only now beginning to be noticed and appreciated.

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AN AWAKENING CITY 1990

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● Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest (2019)

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Restored by Hungarian architecture firm Archikon and interior designer Kroki Studio. The four-year renovation preserved the building's eclectic Art Nouveau, Moorish, and Neo-Gothic elements, while introducing modern luxury amenities.

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In the 2000s, vitality began to replace, albeit slowly, the stagnation. The city finds itself, and we start to use colour, both on buildings and on clothes. Historic buildings are being renovated, pedestrian streets are opening up and Budapest is becoming an open, creative and exciting place. A place where the Sziget Festival feels at home, where ruin pubs are springing up as symbols of creativity, where, despite two-faced government communication, many foreigners feel at home because the city is welcoming and has always been international.

It’s an exciting side story, as the people of Budapest re-discover the bicycle. We were thought of as a nation of horse riders, but it turns out we have a passionate connection with our bikes, and the rate of growth in cycling is comparable only to that of Danish or Dutch cities. All this with the lack of real cycle lanes, one can only imagine how many people will cycle once they are built.

Also a side issue is the playgrounds in Budapest.

It is only when compared with other cities that it really becomes apparent that, although people in Budapest are constantly dissatisfied with their city, there is actually no reason to complain in this area: where there is a foot of green space, there is likely to be a playground.

The kindergartens built during the socialist years are also being renovated in an architecturally innovative way, thanks mainly to Archikon architects.

And the modern public buildings that will put the 90

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With the new bridges, the two sides, Buda and Pest, have slowly become a single, common urban fabric…

Of all European cities, only Berlin has developed faster.

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

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city on the international map are finally being built: the Palace of Arts (Zoboki Design & Architecture), the Museum of Ethnography (Napur Architect), the Papp László Budapest Sportaréna (Közti), the rebuilt Puskás Aréna (Közti), the MOME campus (3h) and the Budapest Music Center (ART1st Design Studio). The site of the Ganz Electricity Works was transformed into a magnificent public park, Millenáris Park, and the country’s main square, Kossuth Square, was renovated.

Budapest is finally attracting international architects, who are adding some great buildings and landmarks to the city: the ING headquarters (Erick van Egeraat), the Bálna (Kas Oosterhuis), the CEU university building (O’Donnell + Tuomey, Teampannon) and the magnificent Hungarian Music House (Sou Fujimoto).

The masterplan for BudaPart, the biggest real estate development in Budapest in recent years, was also designed by a foreign studio (the Danish Adept).

Sadly, the new office building on Szervita Square (Zaha Hadid) was never built, and one can only hope that the new Danube Bridge (UNStudio) or the huge student town on the former Nagyvásártelep site in the south of the city (designed by Snohetta Studio Innsbruck) will finally be built, which could bring a substantial relief to housing prices. It is to be hoped that the government will abandon the idea of moving the Transport Museum to the countryside and that the new exhibition centre (Diller Scofidio + Renfro) will be built in the capital. If it does, it will be quite a bang for the buck, given the plans.

And there is an apt Pest bonmot that says that for the best 21st century buildings we have to go underground: there is something in it, as the new stations of metro line 4, especially Gellért Square, Fővám Square (Sporaarchitects) and Kálvin Square (Palatium Studio) impress many foreigners – but not only them, Hungarians also like them after a decade.

By 2010, tourism was discovering all this for itself, with a succession of cool bars, really good restaurants and new tourist attractions opening up. Of course, as in most cities around the world, this leads to new tensions and rising house prices, for which there is still no really convincing answer. And of course there have been some misguided developments: the former Butchery district could have been our Meatpacking district. But this is not New York, and instead of cool restaurants, shops, studios and coffee roasters, we have got an over-dense, wall-like residential area.

Public transport is well organised, but there are still too many cars, because commuters from the suburbs don’t always have a real alternative to getting into the city. As a Budapest citizen, it is also incomprehensible why electric scooters have not been regulated for a decade, why diesel-powered tourist buses are allowed to run and why billboards should be placed at most alongside motorways, not in the city centre.

The approach to heritage is ambivalent. Today, we can look at the city centre from the comfortable position that many of its historic buildings have been restored to exemplary condition. These include Miklós Ybl’s magnificent Opera House (Zoboki Design &Architecture), the architectural and landscape architecture masterpiece Várkert Bazaar (Közti, Budapesti Műhely, Garten Stúdió), the medieval Buda Town Hall (Hetedik Műterem), the Párisi Courtyard (Archikon), known for its magnificent passage and its oriental-venetian-art nouveau architecture, the Drechsler Palace (Bánáti + Hartvig), reminiscent of French Renaissance castles, the Art NouBUDAPEST – THE BEST IS YET TO COME?

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2010 ● Fővám tér Metro Station (2014) Designed by Sporaarchitects, it’s a striking example of modern transit architecture. Located 36 meters underground beneath the Danube River, the station serves as a vital transportation hub, integrating metro, tram, bus, and pedestrian connections. Its design features a complex system of reinforced concrete beams and strategically placed skylights that allow natural light to penetrate the depths.

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Around 2000, ten years after the fall of the regime, the city still seems to have not woken up. At that time you could still find plenty of houses with bullet holes and smokeblackened facades as mementos.

BATTLE FOR THE SKYLINE: A CENTURY-LONG DEBATE

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veau luxury hotel Gresham Palace (Gábor Kruppa), the Art Nouveau Gesamtkunstwerk, the Academy of Music (Béla Pazár, Éva Magyari, Ferenc Potzner), or the elegant Art Nouveau department store Paris Grand Department Store (János Tiba). Interestingly, few people remember it today, but for a while it looked as if the latter might be the site of a new Guggenheim Museum, but that remains to be seen.

The city still lacks a footbridge or two, a funicular from Gellért Hill, and I could imagine a big photography museum in the city of André Kertész, Robert Capa and Martin Munkácsi. There is still work to be done, but the historic city centre is slowly being regenerated, and the pedestrian precincts are coming together to form a huge district. However, the unified renovation of the once elegant boulevard, Andrassy Avenue, is a missed opportunity, with luxury shops popping up here and there, but if it were to be renovated in a worthy manner, it could truly be the Champs-Élysées of Central Europe – and I am sure it will be one day.

Historic buildings are somehow more loved and more easily absorbed by the human eye, yet their restoration and reconstruction is still a matter of heated debate. The government is committed to restoring buildings that were destroyed or later radically altered during the sieges of the mid-20th century, especially in Buda Castle. It is argued that the city was at its height during the belle époque, and that a return to this period is needed in the historic quarters. Many say this is a total anachronism, but unlike many architecture critics, I am not so strict: the examples of Berlin, Warsaw and Dresden show that it is not uncritical to embark on such a restoration project, but that it is worthwhile to do so with good quality plans and with due respect for the ancestors.

What I cannot identify with, however, and indeed find downright sinful, is that the truly valuable architectural achievements of the 20th century do not seem to be given the same protection. We are not learning from the mistakes of the past and we are witnessing senseless destruction at times, both by private investors and by the government. How easy it would be if in fifty years these architectural gems were not to be rebuilt, but just kept in good order until then.

Railways have been a game-changer for European cities: they have changed the way we relate to landscape, speed and distance, and the railway station has changed the way we enter cities. While I am a firm believer in the renaissance of the railways, by the turn of the millennium a lot of railway land had become redundant, leaving open space for developers. The examples of the Rive Gauche in Paris, the Hauptbahnhof in Vienna or the High Line in New York – all very different from each other – show that there is enormous potential in the railways when approaching urban development creatively. In the 2000s, a new district was created along a former riverside freight station, including both the new National Theatre with its half-assed aesthetics and the world-class Palace of Arts.

When the city’s first skyscraper, the 148-metre-high Mol Tower (Norman Foster), was built across the river, many feared it would open a gateway that was kept closed for a long time. The tower still lacks adequate public transport links, and so it has become a point source of congestion for the city, diverting unnecessary car traffic to one area – although an oil company might be less affected.

BUDAPEST – THE BEST IS YET TO COME?

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The skyscraper is a great invention and an engineering marvel, but it is completely alien to the character of Central European cities. For centuries, there has been a debate in Budapest about whether we need a real skyscraper: the strongest argument was that the meeting of hilly Buda and flat Pest with the Danube is so beautiful and geomorphologically diverse that it should not be intruded upon by high-rise buildings – and this argument is still difficult to argue with today.

The debate was also intellectually fascinating, and the result was that even during the years of socialism the rule that no building could be built higher than the dome of the Parliament and St Stephen’s Basilica, 96 metres high in reference to the founding of the state, was not transgressed.

After such a history, it literally shocked the people of Budapest and the architectural profession when Eagle Hills of the United Arab Emirates announced that it would build a new district on one of the last major brownfield sites in the city, the site of the Rákosrendező freight yard, and erect Europe’s tallest high-rise. News reports suggested 400-500 metre towers, and communications suggested a new golden age and a flood of wealthy investors into the country. Just for context, we are talking about the same developer who populated the Waterfront area of Belgrade with dubious aesthetics.

Even in a polarised country, the idea brought people together in unity, which the authorities sensed and eventually scrapped. For the time being, the story has taken a good turn, with the capital buying the land and plans to create a true park city district with no towers, European-scale affordable housing. I believe in competition, and I sincerely hope that not only this quarter, but the whole city will attract the best architects in the world, who, together with the excellent Hungarian architects, will create something great here. Because Budapest is a super-exciting city, and its creativity, incredible cultural offer, spas and architectural diversity make it one of the most lovable.

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Historic buildings are being renovated, pedestrian streets are 2020 opening up and Budapest is becoming an open, creative and exciting place.

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● Museum of Ethnography (2022) A landmark addition to Budapest's City Park was designed by NAPUR architect. The building's dynamic, curved form integrating a green roof and a façade adorned with over 500,000 laser-cut aluminium pixels, featuring ethnographic motifs from Hungarian and international collections.

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BUDAPEST – THE BEST IS YET TO COME?

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K�NGO KUM�

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● Kengo Kuma (1954)

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He established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. He is currently a University Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a member of the Japan Art Academy after teaching at Keio University and the University of Tokyo. KKAA projects are currently underway in more than 50 countries. Kengo Kuma proposes architecture that opens up new relationships between nature, technology, and human beings.

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LIT�RATURE A� �N INSPI�ATION F�R CREATI�G �EAUTIFUL ARC�ITEC‑ TURE ● Mehrin Museum Brno

The Moravian Jewish Museum Mehrin in Brno will have five floors. The museum will present the history of Jewish presence in Moravia, including the tragic events of the Holocaust and the silence of the Communist era that followed. It will also include the Holocaust Documentation Centre for Moravia.

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Text Tatiana Milovanovic-Mladenovic CZ

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● Mehrin Museum Brno

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The new building will become a vibrant public space in the wider city center, with a well-equipped library, a multifunctional hall for lectures, screenings and exhibitions, and an educational center for children and youth using 21st-century technology.

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Living in Japan is a prize in itself for any lover of architecture, but to meet and discuss architecture three times with one of today’s most prominent architects, that is a real jackpot. I was fortunate enough to have just such an opportunity to speak with and personally meet Kengo Kuma, who is currently one of the most sought-after architects in the world. The occasion for our third conversation was the victory of his studio KKAA in the competition to design the new Moravian Jewish Museum MEHRIN in Brno. But, once again, we also talked about many other things.

Paradoxically, just after returning from Tokyo, I spent six work-filled months in Brno and there the news of KKAA’s success in the MEHRIN competition reached me. During those six months, I also brought a bit of luck to the daughter of my friends, who – after our conversations about his work – chose Kuma as her inspiration for her entrance exam to study architecture in Brno. One of the committee members was so impressed that she was accepted to the Faculty of Architecture VUT. And so a series of small personal coincidences turned into a story about the work of this great architect and the city of Brno, becoming a kind of series of synchronized events that brightened my days even after returning to the old continent.

I first met Kengo Kuma during the “covid period” in Tokyo. We arranged the interview at the Akagi Shrine, designed by his studio, in the Kagurazaka dis-

Literature encompasses various times and spaces in a single book.

Architecture is the act of composing time and space, not of creating a specific form.

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trict. I was very surprised when I saw him, waved, and a tall man walked toward me with a smile. Right behind him came the head priest, accompanied by two young priestesses known as miko in Shintoism. They were dressed in traditional white haori (a type of kimono) over red hakama skirts, with their hair tied back and decorated with red ribbons. The white and red colors symbolize purity and vitality in Shinto. This aesthetic of purity is present throughout the architectural design of the shrine, with all the buildings created in a light and transparent manner, dominated by wood and glass.

Although I thought we would do the interview in the cafe next to the shrine and the adjacent residential complex Park Court Kagurazaka (also designed

by KKAA) the priest instead escorted us to his office, where one of the miko brought us green tea. After the interview, a professional photographer was ready, and we received gifts from the shrine. This gesture expressed a special honor for someone held in high esteem in Japanese society. And that person is undoubtedly Kengo Kuma.

The Tokyo district of Kagurazaka, where the shrine is located, blends French charm with Japanese tradition. Its name translates as “Hill of Divine Entertainment”. The Japanese also call it Furansuzaka (French Hill) or Tokyo’s Little Montmartre. The name makes sense, as a large French community lives here, alongside traditional Japanese restaurants and the French Institute. Kagurazaka feels like a combination of Kyoto and Paris – a blend of East and West in a single crowded room. Kuma himself lives in Kagurazaka, in a house designed by his wife, architect Satoko Shinohara. He has lived in the district for nearly 30 years and considers it the most intimate part of Tokyo. When we first met and discussed the neighborhood, where I also lived, he told me: “While Rome is known as the city of seven hills, Tokyo is a city of hundreds. Many were destroyed during the city’s development, but Kagurazaka’s topography remains unchanged. Many alleys are accessible only by stairs, and cars can’t get through. That’s something I truly enjoy about this neighborhood.”

Kuma has left his mark on Kagurazaka with the aforementioned Akagi Shrine and the conceptual shop La Kagu, which has become a symbol of modern Kagurazaka. The project involved renovating a large book warehouse at the top of the hill, where KKAA created a public square-like space. Inside, alongside the shop, is a restaurant and an area for various pop-up events.

“We opened the building to the street and connected its first floor to the intersection with a wooden staircase of organic shape that spreads out like the ground. The stairs split in the middle, with one part leading to the second floor. We connected the city and the warehouse, earth and architecture, past and present,” Kuma explains.

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It seems that a similar challenge lay in the brief for the MEHRIN Museum in Brno, where the interpretation had to navigate two extremes: the house as a monument and the house as a civil, friendly, open environment. We asked him how they managed to meet such demands?

The most difficult part of the competition was the site. Due to the complex crossing of transport routes, we had to design a calm and quiet space inside the building while maintaining fluid movement outside. It was challenging but worth it.

Brno can boast a rich architectural heritage from the interwar period, which played a crucial role in the development of functionalism in Central Europe. Have you visited the city, and what does it feel like to be part of such cultural heritage?

When I first visited Brno about 30 years ago, I was struck not only by Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat but also by the top-quality modernist architecture I saw throughout the city. It’s a great honor for me to work on a project in Brno, one of Europe’s richest cultural cities.

In many of your projects, literature appears as a source of inspiration. Before the opening of the Murakami Library at Waseda University in Tokyo, you told me that you perceive his literature as a series of tunnels. The MEHRIN project is inspired by national Hebrew poetry, and you also mentioned that this museum tells the stories of those who left and that their memory is woven into the lives of those who remain.

Literature encompasses various times and spaces in a single book. Architecture is the act of composing time and space, not of creating a specific form. As a medium for physically embodying complex dimensions of time and space, I draw a lot of inspiration from literature. The Hebrew word for ‚generation‘ is dor, which literally means ‚the art of basket weaving‘. Each woven row is connected to the previous one and allows the next to be stronger. These stories build bridges between times and generations, between those who were and those who will come like rows in a basket. Hebrew poetry uses this imagery. Generations are always interwoven like threads in a basket, and this museum pays tribute to them. Drawing from the textile history initiated by Jewish weaving families who contributed to Brno’s development, the museum’s building adopts their codes. With a subtle play of bricks, it evokes the weaving of warp and weft. The façade was designed as a precious object.

Like a simple yet elegant fabric, the museum becomes a landmark undulating within the open urban space of the city’s ring.

You know, I love the literature of Haruki Murakami. We conceived the Waseda University library as a literary tunnel. We renovated an old five-story concrete building that once housed a student theater, which Murakami himself attended during his studies. We cut through the building and the corridor to create a tunnel; we painted the façade white and inserted a three-di-

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mensional wooden canopy that serves as a gateway to another dimension. The wooden tunnel, created as a vertical slice through an existing slab, serves simultaneously as a library, theater, and lecture hall. Every detail of the design aimed to bring Murakami’s world closer. The original building was average, an ordinary structure that, in its ordinariness, still had something special. You see, discovering something extraordinary in the completely ordinary is an important theme, because how fascinating our everyday life can be. This concept runs through Murakami’s literature. And so does architecture. I found a connection between literature and architecture, and library projects bring me great joy.

You’ve mentioned several times that the famous Kenzo Tange inspired you to become an architect. Is there anyone or anything else you particularly admire?

Kenzo Tange was my childhood hero. During the 1964 Olympics, I saw his buildings for the first time and was mesmerized. But later, in the 1970s, when he started building all those monumental structures, like in Saudi Arabia, I became disappointed with the direction contemporary architecture was taking. That was when I began my own studies, and in a way, I also lost my hero. After that, I became more interested in traditional styles, and I was partly influenced by architects like Isoya Yoshida and Togo Murano, who pioneered the so-called modern sukiya style, using natural materials and traditional techniques in a modern composition. I loved staying in hotels they designed. Even today, I think those hotels have a special kind of comfort. During my studies, my idol became my professor Hara, who conducted research on rural architecture around the world. He would take groups of students with him, and I even got to travel with him to the Sahara.

That was the best journey I’ve ever taken.

The way houses and villages are connected to nature there is incredibly fascinating to me. Each village has its own style, unique geometry, and decoration. I learned a lot in the Sahara. That spontaneous adaptation to nature has had the greatest personal influence on me. I’m still searching for my own original method of building in that spirit.

So was that journey to the Sahara a turning point in your approach to architecture?

Absolutely. When I finished my studies and began working, Japan’s economy was booming and people wanted extravagant, flashy projects. That led to many unsightly buildings. Fortunately, one of the big projects I was supposed to work on got canceled, and I decided to move to Japan’s countryside. I was born in Yokohama, also a big city, and my only connection to the rural environment had been the summer visits to my relatives in a small remote village on the western coast of the Izu Peninsula. I have beautiful memories from that time. So when

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● Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (Lisboa, 2024) The building's redesign by Kuma draws from the Engawa, a sheltered walkway typical of Japanese dwellings, considered neither totally inside nor outside. Incorporating this typology, the architecture has been integrated into the surrounding gardens of the Gulbenkian Foundation.

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● Murakami Library (Tokyo, 2021) The Waseda International House of Literature, known as the Haruki Murakami Library, was created by cutting through an existing concrete building to form a literary tunnel. The wooden canopy acts as a gateway to another dimension, evoking the atmosphere of Murakami’s work.

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I decided to leave Tokyo and move professionally to smaller towns, it felt like returning to a place I had loved as a child. I worked on small projects there for ten years. That’s where I learned and defined my style. I became familiar with traditional Japanese architecture and realized how sophisticated and precise it is. Sometimes too much so. I wanted to return to nature as much as possible and simplify the construction process.

Your architecture is known for its precise detailing, and you also use the traditional kumiki technique, right?

Yes, but my precision is completely different and much simpler compared to traditional Japanese precision. I learned how to work with kumiki, but the way I use it is very different from its traditional production and application.

Architecture has always been one of the main reasons people travel to certain places. When you create a new project, do you think about whether your architecture will remain attractive in twenty or a hundred years?

Architecture has a timeless appeal that draws people in. Travelers have always been inspired by the architecture of the cities they visit. My goal is to create architecture that transcends time and makes people want to return.

most important goal, and I believe I personally can reach it.

Among the many awards you’ve received for your work, one is quite personal: the award for best-dressed man.

How important is fashion to you, and how would you describe your style? Do you have any favorite fashion designers?

Fashion and architecture are protective entities that accompany and shelter fragile human bodies. I’m interested in fashion in the sense that it connects the body to the outside world. Just like architecture. Clothing also embodies the climate and culture of every place in the world. Among many designers I know, one in particular designed with great sensitivity and respect for diverse cultures. And that was Kenzo Takada. Although he has passed away, our project to renovate his residence in Paris was very exciting, fun, and unforgettable.

What is the most interesting part of being an architect?

Being an architect means I get to meet people from all walks of life and I never get bored. I love meeting and talking with people around the world, not just clients, but also craftsmen, locals, visitors and building users. I think that’s the best part of being an architect.

Do you have a favorite building?

Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright in Pennsylvania. In that building, architecture and nature become one. What’s incredible is that rainwater is allowed to enter the building. Normally, when rainwater gets in, it’s a big problem. But here, water comes in and then flows back out again. The spirit of that idea, how Wright used a natural phenomenon as part of the design, is something I really admire.

Since sand mining damages ecosystems, how can architecture respond to this issue? Is the future in timber construction or in reducing construction altogether?

I use a lot of natural materials in my work like wood, but there’s a limit to how much wood can be used in a single building. Using wood and natural materials isn’t the only way to contribute to the circular ecosystem.

What’s important is to show that beautiful architecture can be made from wood or other natural materials. If people find it interesting and appealing, it can raise awareness about environmental protection. I also think recycling will be the most important strategy for new construction. We’ve already built several buildings using only recycled materials – inside and out. For two restaurants in Tokyo, we used old bicycle frames to make the façade of a new building, and for the interior we used computer cables. For a long time, architecture was a tool for dominating nature, we were destroying it. Today, architecture should be a tool for returning to nature. Of course, this return isn’t easy, but I believe it’s possible. I think it should be our

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Travelers have always been inspired by the architecture of the cities they visit. My goal is to create architecture that transcends time and makes people want to return.

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THE SUBTLE PLAY OF BRICK

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● Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (Lisboa, 2024) The extension of the museum is defined by a 100-metre-long sweeping canopy, composed from ceramic tiles made in Portugal.

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CENTRAL EUROPEAN DESIGN IDENTITY

With Jan Huráb of LD Seating on breaking stereotypes, miraculous polyurethane, a London mission, new challenges, and old chimneys waiting to be conquered.

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When I spoke to you two years ago, you had a lot of plans. And looking at things today, most of them are already fulfilled. Do you ever actually have time to sit down? And when you do, you’re technically testing, so you’re still working. Maybe the better question is do you ever take a break?

What matters most to me is that the plans are fulfilled. At the beginning of your question, I got a bit nervous (laughs), because I couldn’t remember what I’d promised you back then. So now I’m more relaxed. And yes, I do manage to take breaks. My mother, who founded the company, had a rule that work should be done within eight hours. Tomorrow is another day. Thanks to that, she had time for us when we were little boys, and those are memories we still cherish. I follow the same rule today and have also learned to truly switch off when I get home. I don’t think about work.

After Covid, you focused a lot on your online presence, and recently you launched a website with a new configurator. Was it important for you to allow users to set every detail remotely?

We really put a lot of effort into the website, and two things are key. Besides the configurator, it’s the detailed filtering options. We have a huge number of products and variants. Imagine you're looking for a small table and stackable chairs – we made it possible to filter that specifically, so you only get relevant results. People appreciate that. But of course, I’m especially proud of the configurator, because we had to feed it with all that data. It took a lot of work to ensure everything is interconnected. You pick a chair and can immediately choose compatible accessories like footrests, lumbar supports, headrests, and then various fabrics, upholstery, and color combinations for every part. You could easily spend a whole afternoon on it.

So it’s great that you can do it from your living room or home office.

You’re successfully minimizing your carbon footprint by centralizing production in Boskovice. You even manufacture the foam cores for your chairs in your subsidiary, PUR Seating. Tell us a bit more about what can be made from foam and how much the choice of firmness and other properties influences the seating experience itself.

Having our own polyurethane foam production is a major competitive advantage. No one else in the Czech Republic does it this way. And even across Europe, large companies often rely on external partners. We can produce custom foam cores, which lets us fine-tune each chair exactly as needed – firmer in some areas, softer in others, all from a single molded piece. This is also important because of the metal parts inside the chair, the inserts. If we make the foam firmer around them, there’s no risk of feeling anything through the surface. We also produce the fittings and other components ourselves, so the entire product is made from A to Z under one roof. This gives us an edge

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even against the biggest players. We can be more cost-effective even in smaller series, which is a key factor for many of our customers.

You’ve invested in rooftop solar panels, you turn offcuts into construction kits, and you don’t glue the upholstery to the cores, so people can easily repair their favorite chairs even after years of use. Do you have sustainability experts in the company for these ideas, or is it more of a natural instinct?

I’d say it’s a natural progression. The solar panels made economic sense. We have a lot of roof space, so we didn’t hesitate. We still make kits and gift items from offcuts, because production always generates leftovers, and often they’re made from expensive, premium materials. It would be a shame to throw them away. As we mentioned earlier with the metal inserts, we’d like to eventually replace them with hard polyurethane.

It serves the same function, but allows the entire core to be recycled without tearing anything out. And customers really do send their chairs back to be reupholstered, even after the warranty period, which is five to ten years, so our chairs can truly have a long life.

You also have a beautifully renovated showroom in Karlín. I was amused to learn that you designed the display window to catch the attention of passing cars. Are there any other similar little gems?

That was an idea from the architects at the Archicraft studio. I was absolutely thrilled with the collaboration. Just like when you work with talented designers and immediately see the added value, it was the same with the architects. We had our own vision, but many solutions came from our discussions with them, which gave the space clarity and coherence. The window display is backlit, and in the evening there’s heavy traffic on Rohanské nábřeží, so people have time to glance at it. It’s a small thing, but it’s nice.

And another little gem… actually, one comes to mind, I have to look at it every time I come in. We have a backlit ceiling that appears endlessly deep. It’s a playful optical illusion, and I always pause for a moment to take it in.

I’m subtly shifting from the showroom to the exhibitions where LD Seating appears. Is it a two-way street – do you and your designers also keep an eye on what the competition is up to? How important is it in your field to see and be seen?

Definitely both. What we’re seeing now is a trend where customers and companies are trying to balance their participation in massive trade fairs with smaller events like Designblok or my personal favorite, London’s Clerkenwell Design Week. There, you stroll through smaller exhibitions, it’s more like an open house in neighboring showrooms. People are closer together, they want to talk, and they get the chance to try things out in a more personal setting. Large fairs still have their place, so we can’t stop attending them, but I look forward to the small-

COMFY SEATING FITS ANYWHERE

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er events where, naturally, we peek over the fence to see what the competition is doing.

And they peek back. It’s a bit of a dance. I can always tell when a professional walks into the booth, when they start rotating the chair, inspecting the joints, pressing different parts. We compare ourselves to others, we track new developments. You can’t survive in this industry otherwise. Sometimes we leave those events thrilled, sometimes we think others have made a breakthrough.

That’s what makes this job fulfilling.

When designing new seating, do you still think in categories like home–office–hotel, or do you feel those boundaries are fading?

More and more, those lines are fading. If you look at modern offices, they often resemble someone’s living room. People want their “second home” to feel pleasant and that plays right into our hands. That’s where the demand is for more comfortable seating, which we can offer in many variations thanks to our molded foam cores.

When developing new products, sometimes we give ourselves complete freedom. Other times, the function dictates the form like with a classic office chair. But people love to experiment. When I see a boardroom chair being used in a café and it fits in nicely, it honestly makes me happy.

Two years ago, you mentioned that LD Seating had 150 employees. As the company grows, are you running into a shortage of skilled hands? How far from Boskovice do you have to go to find new people?

It’s a challenge, but we anticipated it early. We’ve brought in skilled people from Boskovice and the surrounding villages.

There’s a strong craft tradition in the region, and our employees are happy with us, so they don’t feel the need to leave. That said, seamstresses are hard to find, those training programs are disappearing from schools. So when someone passes the entrance training, we try to keep them busy even during slower seasons. With kits, gift items, and similar products.

ing and ordering. It’s not just about selling standalone pieces, but it’s also about collaborating with local architects and furnishing complete interiors. We have high hopes for the UK market.

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This year marks a quarter of a century since LD Seating became a fully family-owned business. Is that a moment for reflection or rather a time to look ahead? What’s waiting for you there?

When you asked me last time, it was easier – we were planning a new website, a showroom, and production upgrades. That’s all behind us now. What’s ahead? Marketing.

We need to refresh our product range more frequently. We’d like to release new items and seasonal variations more often, so people talk about us more. We’re holding all the cards. Now it’s time to lay them out on the table.

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And for one last question, let’s go back to the past. Your headquarters was built on the site of a former brickyard.

Today, only the chimney remains, overlooking the modern facility. Have you ever thought about climbing it? As a kid or as an adult?

That’s a great question. It’s kind of an ongoing theme between me and my brother. We used to climb rocks as kids, but never made it up that chimney. The thought has definitely crossed my mind. I actually looked up an online community of people who climb chimneys around the Czech Republic and beyond and I found a review of our chimney! Very positive. Apparently, it’s easily accessible, which probably means we should check the fencing (laughs). They said it’s in great condition, which made me happy, because we do take care of it. The verdict was: if you’re going to climb a chimney in this area, it should be this one. I take that as a challenge. Now that you’ve brought it up, maybe it’s a sign.

Next time we speak, be sure to ask me how it went.

You’re preparing to expand into London, where you’ll have a showroom alongside the world’s most renowned brands. Is this a dream milestone or simply a natural evolution of the brand?

It came about through our visits to Clerkenwell Design Week. It’s like a miniature world of furniture design, home to dozens – if not hundreds – of showrooms run by architects, designers, and brands. We no longer want to just fly in once a year for a week, it’s expensive and doesn’t allow us to gain clients meaningfully.

We had the chance to become the main partner in a shared showroom called Atelier Bohemia. Other Czech brands will be presented there as well, but for us it’s a major step forward. We’ll essentially have our own showroom in London, where customers can try things out and immediately start design-

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V�TIŠKA & ŽÁK

Designers Roman Vrtiška and Vladimír Žák have long championed the principles of good design. Grounded in rigorous academic training and steeped in the tradition of European functionalism, they are committed to clarity, logic, and purpose in every project. This approach has found a natural expression in their work with the Czech sanitary ware label Ravak, where the duo has served as creative directors since 2019.

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I� PUR�UIT �F GOO� DE�IGN CZ

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AN� �AVAK

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2020 ● Domino Faucets Domino embodies minimalist and effective design approach of Vrtiška & Žák.

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IN PURSUIT OF GOOD DESIGN

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Vrtiška & Žák’s contemporary work draws heavily on the ideals of postwar modernism, particularly its emphasis on functionality, beauty, and social responsibility. Like the generations of modernist designers before them, they strive to create products that are not only elegant and practical but also thoughtful responses to real-world needs. Their process begins with deep analysis, breaking down problems to their essence, and culminates in logical, refined solutions. Their ethos is not one of self-expression, but of service: to the brand, the end user, and the broader culture of design.

This mindset was evident from the start of their collaboration with Ravak. “When Ravak first approached us five years ago, they didn’t give us a detailed brief,” the designers recall. “They simply said they needed a new line of basins and bathtubs that would elevate both the quality and the price point of their offering. They wanted to appeal to more discerning customers and architects, while maintaining their existing standards.”

In response, Vrtiška & Žák conducted a comprehensive analysis of the brand’s product portfolio and market position. One insight stood out: 80 % of basins were permanently paired with furniture – often impractical and unnecessarily complex. The duo proposed an alternative: a wall-mounted standalone basin with an integrated shelf for toiletries, eliminating the need for an additional cabinet. “We essentially wrote our own brief that matched the company’s goals,” they explain.

This spirit of holistic thinking is what distinguishes Vrtiška & Žák’s work. For them, product design is never isolated. It’s always part of a larger narrative that includes branding, communication, and user experience. From the very beginning of their collaboration with Ravak, they were involved not only in product development, but also in art direction: photography, packaging, styling, press materials, and the overall visual identity of the brand.

“We felt that the brand’s visual language lacked consistency and strength,” they say. “The old logo was dated and its applications fragmented. Ravak was still remembered for its ‚legendary frog‘ mascot, but its corporate identity needed a complete overhaul.”

The studio Marvil was brought in to redesign the brand’s visual style with clear instructions: the logo had to be more compact and optimized for everyday visibility. On the products themselves, where customers interact with it daily, often for years.

Historically, Ravak held a strong position in the lower mid-market, but its product lines lacked the innovation necessary to attract a more design-conscious audience. Vrtiška & Žák stepped in to reposition the brand. Their first contributions – three new product lines – are already in production: the Yard collection of ceramic washbasins, the Spring line of faucets, and Lite, a collection of cast-stone basins. All reflect their philosophy: clean forms, smart integration, and restrained elegance.

The Yard washbasins, for example, are based on a seamless blend of oval and rectangular shapes. The designers incorporated a recessed shelf into the basin form itself, creating a discreet storage solution for soap and toiletries. “We started by asking ourselves what bothers us most in a bathroom. The visual clutter of soap bottles and packaging was the obvious answer. So we designed a way to hide it, not with furniture, but within the product itself,” designers said.

More collections are currently in development, including four additional faucet lines, ranging

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2020 ● Lite A variety of washbasin and cabinet models with precise craftsmanship details offer a unique solution for every bathroom space.

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We feel a responsibility toward existing customers. New designs must feel like a natural evolution, not a disruptive leap. And we always design with the final price in mind —products must remain accessible.

from budget-friendly to premium, as well as new bathtubs and bathroom furniture. But the duo emphasizes that every design decision is guided by two core principles: responsibility and rationality. “We feel a responsibility toward existing customers. New designs must feel like a natural evolution, not a disruptive leap,” they explain. “And we always design with the final price in mind—products must remain accessible.”

What makes Vrtiška & Žák particularly unique within their generation is their versatility. In contrast to many of their peers, whose practices are tightly focused, they are comfortable working across scales, from industrial design to visual identity, from everyday objects to entire product systems. They embrace the modernist idea that good design is democratic: it should solve real problems, integrate seamlessly into daily life, and be available to a wide audience.

This vision also shapes their ambitions for Ravak. “Our long-term goal is to invite other designers to collaborate with the brand, especially international talent as Ravak expands to new markets,” they say. “But first, we need to define the core pillars of the brand and its design principles. Once that’s in place, others will better understand the brand’s values, and we’ll be able to maintain a diverse and high-quality portfolio.”

Their hope? To see Ravak standing proudly alongside the world’s leading design brands. “We believe strongly in the brand’s potential,” they conclude.

And with Vrtiška & Žák at the helm, that belief feels entirely justified.

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2020 ● Yard Yard 600 in black matt is part of the refined series of washbasins including hidden shelve.

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■ Art Deco

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■ Pre war modernism

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T�E EVOLUTIO� �F INTERIO� DE�IGN CZ

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Text & Photos Adam Štěch

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■ Post war modernism

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■ Radical design

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Pulse aims to connect architecture, interiors and design all together.

All these disciplines have always intertwined in the spatial environments where all typologies and scales met in one total work of art. We trace the history of interior design of the 20th century to highlight some of the masterpieces of balance between architecture and applied art in many different forms of expressions.

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THE EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR DESIGN

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■ Art Deco

The doorknob detail in the interior of the Palais de la porta Dorré is also the work of Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and reflects his interest in exotic materials.

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The staircase of Tokyo's Teien Imperial Residence was designed by French architects and decorators led by Henri Rapin in the 1930s.

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American interior decorator and stage designer Tony Duquette created rich eclectic world. Until today, only his former residence in Beverly Hills, The Dawnridge, survided in authentic shape.

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THE EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR DESIGN

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In 1934, Le Corbusier designed his own apartment at the top of his Molitor apartment building in Paris. In his own bedroom, the architect created playful space including movable cupboard, built-in lamp or elevated bed.

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One of the most celebrated modernsit public interiors can be found inside Gothenburg City Hall, completed in 1936 by Swedish archtiect Erik Gunnar Asplund. In his design, the rigid modernsit austerity was replaced by humanistic and playful design.

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The Palace of the Assembly in Indian Chandigarh was built in the 1950s as a part of a whole urbanistic project of new capitol of Indian state Punjab. While Le Corbusier created archtiecture of the building, his cousin Pierre Jeanneret took care of furniture design.

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Créteil City Hall was constructed by architect Pierre Dufau and decorated by celebrated French designer Michel Boyer, known for his forward-thinking space-age designs.

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Whole group of French designers and interior decorators participated, including André Leleu, Maxime Old and Raphael Raffel, on the furnishings of First Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba summer palace in Skanes, Tunisia. It was built in 1961 and its interiors still embodies the richness of the postwar French interior decoration scene.

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Italian artist, architect and designer Nanda Vigo created dozens of radical interiors during the 1960s and 1970s in Italy. White ceramic tiles and fake fur dominates the interior of Casa Meneguzzo, which was constructed by Gio Ponti for art collector Giombatta Meneguzzo in Malo, close to Vicenza.

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THE EVOLUTION OF INTERIOR DESIGN

Co-owner of Almanac and certified architect Tina Haselbacher helped define this young brand when its flagship hotel opened in Barcelona in 2018. The Prague rebirth of the legendary Alcron, however, was a much bigger challenge. Both culturally and historically.

GRACE IN THE CITY

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Under your leadership, Almanac X Alcron underwent a major renovation. Two years on, what are guests most excited about?

I think what guests appreciate most is the balance we’ve struck between preserving the soul of the original Alcron and introducing a fresh, contemporary spirit. They often mention how peaceful and welcoming the atmosphere feels the moment they walk in.

One standout element is our ongoing collaboration with local artists. We regularly host exhibitions featuring both emerging and established Czech creatives. Right now, we’re proud to showcase the work of July Haluzová, whose pieces will be displayed throughout the hotel until the end of August.

It’s a way for guests to engage with the local art scene in a meaningful and unexpected way.

Alcron was Prague’s first five-star hotel, and you continue its legacy of top-tier hospitality. An establishment like this is a living organism that constantly evolves. What’s happening behind the scenes right now?

We’re always evolving – whether in our service, our guest experience, or our internal operations. Currently, we’re focusing on strengthening our sustainability strategy and deepening partnerships with local producers and designers. We’re also preparing something exciting on our rooftop. It will offer a brand-new experience for both guests and locals. It’s still under wraps, but we can’t wait to reveal more soon.

The hotel café is open to the public. In interviews, you’ve spoken about the hotel’s close connection to the city.

Are you succeeding in attracting Prague locals for coffee or even overnight stays?

Yes, definitely. We wanted Elias Coffee Shop to feel open and welcoming to everyone, and it’s been embraced by the local community. It thrives thanks to our Prague-based guests and is closely connected to the city’s creative pulse. We have an ongoing collaboration with artist Jan Bican, who redesigns our café window display every three months with his bold, colourful work. He also created the label for our house coffee, and his art is part of the interior décor. It adds a vibrant, evolving energy to the space. We’ve also seen more and more locals choosing to stay with us – whether for special occasions, weekend escapes, or simply to enjoy a different part of their own city.

How much does a place with such a strong genius loci need to “chase” the latest hotel trends?

We don’t follow trends. Instead, we stay true to our three brand pillars, which guide everything we do. Our focus is on protecting what is already exceptional about a place and enhancing those qualities, rather than chasing what’s fleeting. By staying grounded in our values, we preserve the unique character and spirit of the location while still delivering a high-quality, contemporary experience. That’s how we honour the genius

PROMOTION

loci. By creating something lasting and authentic, not trend-driven.

Almanac has hotels in Vienna and Barcelona. Do they share a common DNA, or are they, like the Prague hotel, unique expressions of their respective cities?

We definitely share a common DNA through our brand pillars, but each hotel is uniquely rooted in its own location and culture.

You’ve spent a lot of time in Vienna, but Prague has become close to your heart. People often say these two cities are similar, yet different. Where in Prague do you feel most like you're in Vienna?

When I walk through Prague’s historic alleys, paved with cobblestones, I feel most like I’m in Vienna. The atmosphere there reminds me of Vienna’s first district: full of old-world charm and timeless elegance. The cobbled streets, the architecture, the ambiance evokes that same sense of depth and grandeur.

During the renovation, you made space for Czech and Slovak artists. How is your collaboration with the local cultural scene progressing?

It’s progressing beautifully and is central to who we are. We’re proud to support not just established artists, but also emerging talents looking for a platform to share their work. In many ways, we see the hotel as a kind of artistic incubator. We offer more than just exhibition space. We support artists with content creation, PR, and visibility.

And when their pieces sell, which happens often, it’s a joy. It shows that guests are truly connecting with what they see and feel here.

You studied architecture, and last year Almanac X Alcron partnered with Pulse Prague. In your view, do events like this help bring architecture closer to the public?

Absolutely. Events like Pulse help bring architecture into everyday spaces like hotels, where it becomes part of the lived experience. By collaborating with initiatives like this, we can show how architecture shapes not just aesthetics, but also atmosphere and function.

The world’s best hotels are all about the details – often subtle, but deeply felt. Are there details like that at Almanac X Alcron?

Definitely. We believe that true luxury lies in how a place makes you feel, and that feeling often comes from small, quiet details. It could be the scent in the lobby, a carefully curated playlist in the café, or a handwritten note waiting in the room. Nothing showy – just thoughtful touches that make people smile.

SPRITZ:

Spritz is a drink that transports you to the sun-drenched streets of Italy – refreshing, lightly sparkling, and perfectly balanced in flavor. More than just a cocktail, it’s a way to savor the present moment – on a terrace at sunset, with friends, or simply for the joy of it.

Its charm lies not only in the taste but also in the atmosphere it creates. It draws from the tradition of the aperitivo – the Italian ritual of slowing down, meeting up, and enjoying time together. Whether you’re in the mood for a classic, a non-alcoholic version, or a fruity twist, spritz always has something to offer.

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THE ITALIAN WAY Four drinks, four moods: Sarti Spritz

Aperol Spritz

Campari Spritz

Crodino Spritz

A new, modern addition to the aperitivo family. Light, fruity, and visually striking. Passion fruit, mango, and blood orange come together in a refreshing combo for those who crave something youthful and playful.

An Italian icon with a gently bittersweet taste and a signature orange hue.

For lovers of bitter notes and bold flavor. An elegant classic with a deep red color and unmistakable charm.

A full-flavored experience with zero alcohol. Bittersweet, gently sparkling, and perfect for brunch, a work meeting, or catching up with friends.

Recipe: 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Sarti Rosa, 1 part soda, ice + lime.

Recipe: 3 parts prosecco or Cinzano To Spritz, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part soda, ice + orange.

Recipe: 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Campari, 1 part soda, ice + orange.

Recipe: Crodino Biondo/ Rosso, soda, ice + orange.

Spritz is easy to make and always stylish. A chilled glass, quality ingredients, and a moment for yourself – that’s the whole magic. Whether you enjoy it solo or with friends, it always reminds you that living the Italian way is all about finding joy in life’s little pleasures.

PREPARATION TIP: Start with a chilled glass full of ice.

Add prosecco, aperitivo, and soda, stir gently – and enjoy your spritz.

PROMOTION

Everything you need is at www.warehouse1.cz

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2020 ● Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel. Located in Nesvačilka, Czechia by RCNKSK (2024) It begins with light - natural or shaped - that falls from above, evoking mystery rather than clarity.

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In an era marked by rapid transformation and profound challenges, architecture finds itself at a pivotal crossroads. Beyond its traditional roles of shelter and utility, there lies an emerging imperative: to craft spaces that evoke awe, foster connection, and nourish the human spirit.

A�CHI‑ TECTUR� �F AW�

Designing for Transcendence in Times of Change

● Natalia Olszewska (1989) Polish neuroscientist and the cofounder of Impronta. Her work focuses on the intersection of neuroscience, cognition, and innovation. She is particularly interested in how scientific understanding of the brain can inform creative processes and human-centered design. She has collaborated on international research and innovation projects bridging science and the arts.

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ARCHITECTURE OF AWE

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In times of rupture, we don’t just rebuild - we rethink. We restart. The PULSE 2025 Festival arrives at a moment when architecture is called not only to adapt, but to reimagine its purpose. Our task is no longer simply to build efficiently or sustainably, though those remain vital. It is to create spaces that address a deeper, often unnamed need. A need for meaning, for connection, for something that helps us feel alive again, when much of life has been flattened by acceleration, anxiety and abstraction. That something may well be awe. And in this moment of cultural and ecological complexity, I believe awe is not only a spiritual emotion or poetic luxury - it is a neurobiological key to individual and collective renewal.

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1940 WHAT IS AWE, AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Awe is one of the most profound emotional states we can experience. It arises when we encounter something vast, complex, or beautiful that transcends our existing mental models. In these moments, the brain temporarily suspends its usual patterns: self-focused thinking dissolves, time seems to stretch, and a sense of unity or deep presence emerges.

We now know from neuroscience that awe deactivates the Default Mode Network - a system in the brain associated with internal dialogue, self-referential thought, and often anxiety and rumination. In its place, new networks light up, associated with sensory processing, attention, and social connection. At the physiological level, awe increases vagal tone, reduces sympathetic arousal, and triggers the release of oxytocin - the so-called “bonding hormone”.

Awe is not just a feeling - it is a reset. A temporary, powerful shift in how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world. In psychological terms, awe has been linked to reductions in depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. It enhances generosity, cooperation, and openness to new perspectives. In other words: awe heals. Not in a metaphorical sense, but in measurable, embodied ways. At a time when we are collectively navigating climate grief, social polarization, and existential fatigue, awe may be one of the most underutilized design tools available to us.

1990 THE HUMAN NEED FOR TRANSCENDENCE

From the Eleusinian Mysteries to Gothic cathedrals, from Sufi poetry to the spaces of Japanese teahouses, humans have always created architectures of transcendence. Spaces that remind us we are part of something larger than ourselves. This need for contact with something beyond the material is not a cultural artifact. It is a biological one. We are hardwired to seek states that soften the ego and expand awareness. Whether we call them spiritual, mystical, aesthetic, or sublime, these states serve an essential function: they connect us to life in its wholeness. Architecture, then, becomes not just the shaping of space, but the shaping of consciousness.

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1990 ● Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel. Located in Nesvačilka, Czechia by RCNKSK. Designing for awe is not about size or extravagance. It is about creating the conditions for an emotional shift.

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2020 ● Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel. Located in Nesvačilka, Czechia by RCNKSK. It begins with light - natural or shaped - that falls from above, evoking mystery rather than clarity.

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ARCHITECTURE OF AWE

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1960 ● Interior of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw by Thomas Phifer Studio.

Silence allows inner stillness to emerge.

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2020 ● Interior of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw by Thomas Phifer Studio.

Silence and vertical magnitude invite the emotion of awe.

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AWE IN SPACE

Designing for awe is not about size or extravagance. It is about creating the conditions for an emotional shift.

It begins with light - natural or shaped - that falls from above, evoking mystery rather than clarity. We see this in Tadao Ando’s Church of the Light, where a narrow cross-shaped opening allows daylight to cut through the concrete wall, creating a quiet, simple, and powerful atmosphere.

It continues with silence that allows inner stillness to emerge.

It includes vertical magnitude, cognitive and emotional stretch that evokes humility and longing at once.

It embraces rhythm and repetition - architectural means that mimic the patterns of breath.

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None of these elements work in isolation. Awe arises from the interplay of perception, memory, space, and feeling.

What if we thought of buildings not just as places, but as nervous system experiences? What if we treated spatial design as an intervention in cognition, mood, and meaning-making?

At IMPRONTA, we explore these questions with a range of clients. We analyze how the brain and body respond to layout, forms, materials or light. But more importantly, we help design teams use this science not as limitation, but as inspiration - a creative lens through which architecture can truly support the human experience. Because design that regulates emotion, invites reflection, or fosters a sense of belonging is not merely functional - it carries transformative potential.

This is especially urgent in cities. As urban life becomes more dense, digital, and distracted, we must ask: What anchors us? What heals us? What reminds us that we are alive, and part of something larger?

ARCHITECTURE AS MEDICINE

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1990 I offer no ten commandments for awe-inspiring buildings. Instead, I offer a few provocations asking:

TOWARD A NEW PARADIGM IN DESIGN

How might we measure “success” in architecture not by efficiency, but by how often it moves us?

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And what would our cities look like if we designed not just for sustainability, but for transcendence?

Can space be designed to induce reverence without religion?

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Perhaps this is the real restart - not only new materials or technologies, but a new relationship between space, psyche, and society.

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�ULSE 2025 WID� LI�T

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PUBLIC BUILDING SK 1980 CZ Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel in Nesvačilka / RCNKSK , Nesvačilka, 2024

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GAMPA s Sféra / Šépka architekti , Pardubice, 2023 Jirčany Fire Station / SOA, Psáry, 2024

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Sports Hall Řevnice / Grido architekti , Řevnice, 2023 Art Studios of the Faculty of Education / studio dílna , Brno, 2023

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Bratislava Calvary / Hantabal architekti , Bratislava, 2023

House of Clubs / atelier Dunkelschwarz, 2024, Neumarkt

Biofarm Workplace / Kontextus architecture studio , 2024

Campus Podhradie / zornicka architects , Bratislava, 2024

Headquarter Windkraft Simonsfeld / Juri Troy Architects, 2024, Ernstbrunn

Family Support Center Nasz Dom / POLE Architekci , Zakopane, 2024

Completion of the Bernolákovo elementary school, multifunctional hall / Bakyta Architekti , Bernolákovo, 2024 Hydraulic laboratory of the Institute of Landscape Engineering / Martin Dulík, Marek Šumichrast, Nitra, 2024 The Mill / atelier DKLN , Bratislava 2024

2010

Gum Campus / BDM Architekci, Kielce, 2024

HOS House of Schools JKU Linz / Querkraft architects, 2024, Linz

Student Pavilion of the University of Warsaw / 22Architekci, Warsaw, 2024

Children's Art Laboratory / Schenker Salvi Weber, 2024, St. Pölten

Gambit Office / Robert Konieczny KWK Promes , Gliwice, 2024

The Rüscher Joinery / Simon Moosbrugger Architekt, Schnepfau, 2023

Student Housing of the University of Warsaw / Projekt Praga , Warsaw, 2024

Children's grove on the hill / Archikon Architects, Budapest, 2024 Corvinus Gellert Campus / PLANT – Atelier Peter Kis , Budapest, 2024 Ferences Gimnazium extension / Robert Gutowski Architects, Esztergom, 2024 Szentpéterfa Elementary School / Can Architects , Szentpéterfa, 2023

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RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CZ SK AT

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Libčice Residence / mar.s architects, Libčice nad Vltavou, 2024

Apartment House Podun / studio kuklicasmerek+, Bratislava, 2024

Gapfohl House / Bernardo Bader Architekten, Laternsertal, 2023

House by the Pasture / RMK.A, Greater Poland Voivodeship, 2024

Zsuzsi's house in Révfülöp / Nanovizio studio, Révfülöp, 2023

Seven-storey house / Malý Chmel, Olomouc Region, 2023

Bananka Family House / Paulíny Hovorka Architekti, Banka, 2024

House near Konin / Studio GAB, RosochaKolonia, 2023

House J40 / Konkrét Stúdió, Maďarsko, 2024

House Oskar / Jan Žaloudek Architekt, Kamenná Lhota, 2024

Sidus Family House / Sebastian Nagy architects, Adamovské Kochanovce, 2023

Rivus Vivere – Urban Building Block Breitenfurter Straße / PPAG architects, Vienna, 2023

Villa Sidonius / Stempel & Tesar architekti, Central Bohemia, 2024 Green House / Aoc architekti, Prague, 2023

Záhorské Sady Family House / Čechvala Architects, Záhorská Bystrica, 2024 Steep Houses / Eckhardt studio, BratislavaDúbravka, 2023

Straussengasse 14 / atelier feld72, Vienna, 2023 TIMBER*LAA / studio Nonconform, UnterlaaVienna, 2023 Wohnen am Paspelsee / Berktold Weber Architekten), Rankweil, 2024

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Red House / Hyz Projektuje., Brok, 2024

Hempcrete house / Projectroom, Szentendre, 2023

Single Family House / YY87 Architektura, Polsko, 2023

Semi-detached House / WY Design, Kisalföld, 2024

Triple House / Superhelix Pracownia Projektowa, Gaj, 2024

Red House / A Fiúk Építész Stúdió, Budapest, 2024

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RECONSTRUCTION CZ SK AT House in Kutná Hora / BYRÓ architekti, Kutná Hora, 2023

Nádvorie Ateliers, Pekárska 40 / Sadovsky & Architects, Trnava, 2023

Atelierhaus / Archipel Architekten, Wofshof, 2023

Automatic Mills Grain Silo Conversion / Prokš Přikryl architekti, Pardubice, 2023

Social services home Nezábudka / SPDe architekti, Leopoldov, 2023

Gymnasium Zirkusgasse / Shibukawa Eder Architects, Vienna, 2024

Reconstruction of the DOV fa Leemon building / Kamil Mrva architects, Ostrava, 2024

Mikulášska 3 and 5 / Atelier-S, Bratislava, 2024

Reconstruction of the Lesná Polyclinic / dkarchitekti, Brno, 2023 Villa Fitz / LUNI architekti, Rokycany, 2024

BBNV reconstruction of a family house / studio JRKVC, Bratislava, 2023 Villa K renovation / atelier fabrici, Nitra, 2024

House F / Firm Architekten, Schwarzenberg, 2024 Museum Bezau / studio Innauer Matt, Bezau, 2024 TschiItscherschlössle / marte.marte architekten, Feldkirch, 2024

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House of Remembrance of the Augustow Roundup / Tremend studio, Augustów, 2023

Katti Zoób Fashion & Museum / Bánáti + Hartvig Építész Iroda, Balatonfüred, 2023

National Library / Konior studio, Warsaw, 2024

Ski House / Hetedik Müterem + Studio Konstella, Budapest, 2024

Revitalization of the former factory of “Huta Pokoj” / Małeccy biuro projektowe, Ruda Śląska, 2023

Piarist Gymnasium / CAN Architects, Mosonmagyaróvár, 2024

St. Barbara / Grupa5 Architekci, Warsaw, 2024

Reconstruction of a historical dryer / Balázs Falvai, Debrecen, 2024

Żeromski Theatre / WXCA, Kielce, 2024

Transforamtion of a 100-year-old fruit storage building / arkt studio + Projectroom, Szentendre, 2023

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PULSE 2025 WIDE LIST

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PUBLIC INTERIOR CZ SK Forbína bar / Olgoj Chorchoj , Prague, 2024

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Kahotski Eyewear studio / studio IHOR , Prague, 2024 Czech Promotion Offices Vol. 2 / KURZ architects , Prague, 2023 Ramencraft bistro / SOA architekti , Prague, 2024 Facilities, reception, club and dining room in Rudolfinum / Lenka Míková architekti, Prague, 2024

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Delta Office / Delta Pods Architects Slovakia , Bratislava, 2024

Beauty and concept store MOOI / Megatabs architekten, Vienna, 2024

180 heartbeats + Jung v Matt offices / DOT architekci, Warsaw, 2024

In-house fitness / Projectroom , Budapest, 2023

Mimóza gelato / atelier GRAU , Bratislava, 2023

Hotel Welt Wien / Baukooperative, Vienna, 2023

ROSA bistro / studio CUDO:, Wroclaw, 2024

Kollab - A cultural hub in Mammut shopping mall / Paradigma Ariadné , Budapest, 2023

Nehera store / Kilo Honč , Bratislava, 2024 Branch of the Old Town Library Záhrebská street / Bistan Architekti , Bratislava, 2024 Narbon restaurant / Cakov & partners , Bratislava, 2024

Jeweller Kopf / Baunschlager Eberle Architekten, Feldkirch, 2024 Reiters Reserve Premium Suites / BEHF Architects, Bad Tatzmannsdorf, 2023 Rooms by Wolfensson / BWM Designers & Architects , Vienna, 2024

Objekt Gallery / Hyz projektuje. , Warsaw, 2024 PEKAO private banking / studio SixFingers & Mut Architekci, Warsaw, 2024 Yope Office / Loskiewicz. studio , Warsaw, 2024

Melea The Health Concept Hotel / Kroki Studio, Sárvár, 2024 Pokito bistro / Studio Architekten, Budapest, 2023 RTL Headquarters office interior / LAB5 , Budapest, 2024

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RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR SK AT 1980 CZ

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Riverside Apartment / DDAANN , Prague, 2024

Apartment 11 / Zoran Samoľ, Šaľa, 2023

Historic jewel / Christina Tassioglou, Vienna, 2023

More Than It Seems apartment / No Architects , Prague, 2024

Anchor Apartment / Alan Prekop, Bratislava, 2024

House M / Destilat Architecture + Design , Menorca, 2024

flat for a rent / studio Svobodová Blaha , Prague, 2024

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Flexible Living / Chybik + Krištof , Olomouc, 2024 House in Motol / RicharDavidArchitekti , Prague, 2023

Nidau Apartment / Beef architekti , Nidau, 2024 Apartment Z / GRAU atelier , Bratislava, 2024 Pink Mill loft / Kilo Honč, Piešťany, 2024

HMK House with a Crown / Atelier Gitterle , Tyrol, 2023 Attic extension / Baukooperative, Vienna, 2024 Vienna Apartment / Studio Hana Salley, Vienna, 2024

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Albert Judycki apartment / Albert Judycki, Warsaw, 2024

Báthory apartment / Bunkerdoplphin studio, Budapest, 2024

Projekt Powiśle / Bogulski studio, Warsaw, 2024

Bauhaus at Heroes sq. / Nanovizio, Budapest, 2023

Jeziorki apartment / Bednarska studio, Warsaw, 2024

Budafoki street apartment / Épületlabor , Budapest, 2024

500SQM Home / Hanna Pietras, Łódź, 2024

Hernád 2 in 1 / Studio Ness, Budapest, 2024

Pasteur apartment / KLU studio, Wroclaw, 2024

Vamhaz / WY Design , Budapest, 2023

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Fold-able collection, the chair / Jiří Krejčiřík x BUDU, 2024

M24 side table / Klemens Schillinger x Master & Master, 2024

Cabana Easy chair / GestGest, 2024

Boulder collection / Annabella Hevesi x Line and Round, 2024

Patchwork table / Jakub Pollág, 2024 Log collection / Jiří Pelcl x Master & Master, 2024 Tectonia acoustic furniture / BAlance is Motion x Ekustik, 2024 Unroll collection / Two Hundred Tons, 2024

Bioplastic Toys / Crafting Plastics, 2024 Canisters/Paper vases / Pavol Capík, 2023 The modular set SANA / Tomáš Král x Javorina, 2024 MX Display System / Trimtab, 2024 Tara cabinet / Dalibor Marek x Anesis, 2023

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Mini Stations / Studio Re.d, 2024 Sattel sofa / Sofia Kocher, 2024 Tide chair / ante-up, 2024 Yshelf / Jan Penka, 2024

Frame collection / Grynasz studio x Kleiber, 2024 Ubi chair / noo.ma , 2024 ater.bench stone / ater, 2024 system DELTA/ LUMOLAMP / KABO & PYDO x LumoTubo, 2024

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Stretch chair / Forms Desig , 2024 MOKO collection / Sara Kele + Anna Cserba, 2024 Orja chair / Sárkány Bence Furniture, 2024

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Loop chair / HENIBARA, 2024

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Cooking the Craft / Ivo Jedlička, 2024

Bonbon / Högl Borowski, 2024

Aluminium Side Table / Jan Ankiersztajn, 2024

Pinch collection / EVAANNA, 2024

Duene / Mischer’ Traxler, 2024

Blampas / Bluba studio, 2023

Data Driven Ceramics / Hajnal Gyeviki, 2024

Pyrian / Laurids Gallée, 2024

Candelabra, Cybersigilism collection / Jansen Spaltabaka, 2024

FI-lux lamp / József Kovács, 2024

Around table / Janskydundera & kolemhlíny, 2024

Basket-like, Basket-what, Basket-why / Františka Benčaťová, 2023 Head lights III / Emil Taschka, 2024

Essence collection / Karolína Kučerová, 2024

In a Certain Moment / Paula Benčaťová, 2023

Ladislava Vanity Table / Jiří Krejčiřík, 2024

Jewellery collection / Atelier Hora, 2024

Awkwards / Jakub Berdych Karpelis, 2024

Various peeing methods/ Fountain style / Zuzana Svatik, 2024

Ornamental Welding / Anna Zimmermann, 2024 Wasteware / Barbara Gollackner, 2023

TransFormy+ series / Monika Patuszyńska, 2024 Blur collection / Rest Studio, 2024

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MushLume / Panna Nora Fehervari, 2024 Boiling Point / Veronika Fábián, 2024

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PULSE 2025 WIDE LIST

PULSE JOURNAL 01 is made with the work, ideas and support of

PULSE TEAM

Editor-in-Chief Tereza Finková

Founder Miloš Štěpař

Art Director Jakub Straka

Managing Director Eva Kozarová

Executive Editor Adam Štěch

Head of Partnerships Kateřina Výmolová

Creative Director Jan Králíček

Head of Program Vojtěch Eliáš

Contributing Writers Deyan Sudjic Marcin Szczelina Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka Sophie Lovell Arik Levy Ivana Knobloch Helena Koenigsmarková François Leblanc di Cicilia Maria Cristina Didero Marco Sammicheli Rainald Franz Jakub Pollág Lászlo Bagi Tatiana Milovanovic-Mladenovic Václav Rybář Natalia Olszewska

Curator of PULSE 2025 Marcin Szczelina

Translator Douglas Arellanes Distribution Manager Monika Matějková PULSE JOURNAL is published by New Look Media, Apolinářská 3, 120 00 Prague Copyright PULSE JOURNAL and contributes, 2025 All rights reserved

Contributing Curators Tereza Finková Adam Štěch Ilona Mančíková Jan Králíček Michal Froněk Art Director Petra Roubalová Production Manager Lucie Bednárová Account Manager Roksolana Teslyčko Social Media & Video Editor Zdeněk Marek www.pulse.archi Members of Jury PULSE AWARDS 2025 Architecture Kengo Kuma / JP Peter Lorenz / AT Jan Vondrák / CZ László Bagi / HU Monika Arczyńska / PL GRAU Architects / SK Interior Design Studiopepe / IT Gregor Eichinger / AT Magdalena Rochová / CZ Studio Minusplus / HU Kacper Gronkiewicz / PL Studio Kilo Honč / SK Design Formafantasma / IT Marco Dessi / AT Eva Eisler / CZ Judit Horváth / HU Tomek Rygalik / PL Silvia Lutherová / SK

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