Eva Jiricna : Key Project Information

Key Projects Practice Information Qualifications / Awards 1962 Architect / Engineer University of Prague 1963 Postgraduate Degree Prague Academy of Fine Arts 1973 Dip. Arch. Royal Institute of British Architects 1990 Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Art 1991 Royal Designer for Industry 1993 Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Arts 1994 C.B.E, for Services to Interior Design 1996 Honorary Fellow, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland 1997 Elected as Academician to The Royal Academy of Arts 2000 Honorary Doctorate of Technology, Southampton Institute 2000 Honorary Doctorate of Technology, Tech. Institute of Brno, Czech Republic 2001 Professor of Architecture & Design, University of Applied Arts, Prague 2002 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, University of Sheffield 2003 Elected President of Architectural Association, London Eva Jiricna Architects Eva Jiricna Architects is an architectural and design practice based in London with an international portfolio of residential, commercial and retail interiors; furniture, products and exhibitions; private and public buildings. The practice is at the forefront of innovation in form and technology, with highly crafted and detailed designs employing classic materials - glass, steel and stone - in a thoroughly modern language. As a multi-disciplinary practice, Eva Jiricna Architects (EJA) provides a comprehensive service including the design of new buildings and public spaces as well as detailed interiors, products and furniture. Eva Jiricna Architects has won numerous international design awards and its work is regularly published in magazines, books and periodicals. Its clients include major corporate and public organisations such as Amec plc, the Jubilee Line Extension, Andersen Consulting, Boodle & Dunthorne jewellers, the Royal Academy of Arts, Selfridges, the Victoria and Albert Museum. EJA has a strong collaborative track record, working closely with clients and other members of the design team, including engineers, landscape architects cost consultants and urban designers. EJA is run by its founder, Eva Jiricna, a Czech born architect who has been based in London for over 30 years. The London office currently employs ten architects and designers, with a satellite office operating in Prague. Jiricna's wide experience includes working at the Greater London Council on her arrival in the UK in 1968 followed by the Louis de Soissons Partnership and the Richard Rogers Partnership - where she was responsible for the interior design packages for the Lloyds Headquarters building. With Jan Kaplicky and his practice Future Systems, Eva designed the Way In store at Harrods, an award winning scheme that influenced a generation of retail interiors. Over the last decade, Jiricna's contribution to architecture and design has been recognised with personal awards, including being made a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), a CBE (Commander of the British Empire), election as a Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts, and induction in the American Hall of Fame. Eva Jiricna holds honorary doctorates and professorships in several universities, participates on international juries (recently for the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum and new arts wing for Goldsmith's College, London), and lectures widely on her work. Lightness, transparency and truth to materials are the hallmarks of EJA's design approach. The shop interiors for Hugo Boss, Joseph, Joan & David in New York, London and Paris reflect the robustness of this integrated design strategy. Glass is used by Eva Jiricna Architects as a structural and decorative material to both optimise transparency and bring daylight deep into unpromising retail locations. Stainless steel details, from hinges and fixings to door handles and brackets, are crafted to reflect their structural integrity. Stone floors provide continuity, solidity and interplay with the sparkle of the glass and steel. Eva Jiricna's dramatic staircases, delicately fashioned but sturdily engineered with glass treads and steel cables - central features of both retail and residential schemes - possess sculptural qualities that add to the fluidity of the internal spaces. Hotel Josef Prague: image from Eva Jiricna Architects Most recently, Eva Jiricna's holistic design approach has been applied to the 110 bedroom Hotel Josef in Prague (above, opening in mid-2002). This project follows EJA's completion of a glass and steel structure for the new Orangery in the grounds of Prague's Castle, a thoroughly contemporary addition to a unique set of heritage buildings. Hotel Josef, Prague: image from EJAL Also in Prague, Eva Jiricna Architects has been responsible for residential projects, including a sensitive refurbishment of a 17th century loft in a town palace, and a feasibility study for a new rail terminus for the developers ASK. EJA has a strong track record with its high-level clients, such as the Royal Academy of Arts and jewellers Boodle & Dunthorne, and is frequently invited to repeat commissions (eg, Andersen Consulting for whom Eva Jiricna designed offices in the landmark Gehry building in Prague, as well as locations in Warsaw, Moscow and Budapest). In the UK, Eva Jiricna Architects has worked on numerous proposals for the London Docklands Development Corporation and was responsible for the elegant transport interchange at Canada Water, one of the prestigious Jubilee Line Extension developments. In 1999, EJA designed the Faith Zone as part of the controversial Millennium Dome exhibition, London, delivering the project on time despite severe logistical, technical and management problems. Other exhibition schemes include a subtle intervention in the Grade 1 listed Sir John Soane's Museum in London, and an exhibition design for the Mendel Institute in Brno. Eva Jiricna Architects is working on numerous residential schemes in London, a series of penthouse flats in Canary Wharf, and a pedestrian bridge in London's Docklands. Also underway is the design of new entrances for Selfridge's flagship store in Oxford Street and development of the masterplan for the Victoria & Albert Museum. Hotel Josef Prague Prague Architecture Eva Jiricna Shop image © adrian welch Eva Jiricna Interior in London Faith Zone - Millennium Dome exhibition, London More projects online soon

Practice Information