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Future Systems Exhibition:
The exhibition “Remembering Jan Kaplický - Architect of the Future” at the Design Museum in London
Curator : Deyan Sudjic
Dates : 1 Jul - 1 Nov 2009
Deyan Sudjic comments: “Jan was a remarkable architect, and a brilliant artist. We can only now begin to understand his impact on the shape of the contemporary world”.
Future Systems Exhibition at the Design Museum
Future Systems:
The husband and wife partnership of Jan Kaplicky and Amanda Levete are to split after twenty years.
Kaplicky (Czech), 71, will retain the Future Systems name he established in 1979 and will work with about 10 staff; Levete (Welsh), 53, will operate under her own name with about 40 staff.
They divorced in 2006 and have both since remarried. Kaplicky married Czech film producer Eliska Fuchsová in 2007. Apparently their design approach diverged with Jan wishing to fully exploit curvilinear ideas, often labelled as 'blob architecture'.
Levete's new practice has a commission from James Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corporation in Europe and the Middle East, to rebuild the headquarters of the Times and Sun at Wapping, east London.
Kaplicky considered his new national library in Prague could be the grand finale to his career.
Formation of Amanda Levete Architects - 12 Mar 2009
Key Projects by Future Systems:
The Czech National Library , Czech Republic
2007-
Prague Library : design competition winner
Selfridges Birmingham : Bullring, Birmingham, England, UK
2005
photo © webbaviation
Selfridges Birmingham
Recent Future Systems Buildings - News:
Luas Bridge, Dublin, Ireland
2007-
Geoffrey Chaucer School, New Kent Road, southeast London
-
Future Systems Architects
Oosterdokseiland, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Project with Bennetts Associates & MacCreanor Lavington Architects
Oosterdokseiland Masterplan: Erick van Egeraat Architects
Key Future Systems Building - featured:
Glasgow Bridge Project by Future Systems with Mckeown Alexander Architects (part of PJMP, latterly JM Architects)
People's Crossing - Architecture:
Mott MacDonald Ltd, Franklin and Andrews, Future Systems, McKeown Alexander
Stand, Peter McCaughey, Loci
Glasgow Bridge entries
Future Systems - Buildings:
Lord's Cricket Ground Media Stand, St John's Wood, northwest London
1998-99
Lord's Ground from MCC : Photo © Anthony Devlin
Lord's Media Stand - NatWest Media Centre
Stirling Prize Winner 1999
Underground House, Pembrokeshire, south west Wales
1998
for Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews
Hauer-King House, 40 Douglas Rd, Islington, northeast London
1994
One of Future Systems' first UK buildings – private home
Meadlands Primary School, Richmond upon Thames, southwest London, England
2005
Classroom of the Future, Broughton Avenue:
prefabricated moulded GRP oval-section cylinder
Wild at Heart – flower shop, 49a Ledbury Rd, Notting Hill, London W11
-
Future Systems - Projects:
Abu Dhabi Masterplan
2005
The Ark - Earth Centre, nr Doncaster, Yorkshire, north England
not to be built
Other Designs:
champagne buckets for the Ivy restaurants
coathangers for Marni
Future Systems - Architects:
Future Systems are currently best known for Selfridges Birmingham and their earlier Lords Cricket Ground Media Stand. The architects have a reputation for organic architecture ie where the section and plan are curvilinear. They have also completed some notable bridges.
Future Systems: London Shop
2004
Future Systems Architects - Oxford Street London store
Glasgow Bridge image
Offices in Notting Hill, west London
Future Systems Architects - Background:
Future Systems was run by Jan Kaplicky and Amanda Levete. For years they designed visionary buildings with little to show, but then they had a starkly modern house built in northeast Islington and rose to fame with their Lords Cricket Ground Media Stand. This was criticised for looking space age but being made using old-fashioned, slow techniques in a Cornish boat-building yard. Nevertheless Future Systems have certainly pushed the boundaries of English architecture, indeed building design globally.
One of their highest profile buildings in recent years was Selfridges in Birmingham. Located at the Bull Ring the result has a close relationship with their wacky model from their early days of Trafalagar Square, London. Selfridges were a brave client - they had also approached Toyo Ito for a Glasgow store - but the result has a poor relationship with the pedestrian: it looks cool but appears to fail on basic ergonomic levels.
Jan Kaplicky left Czechoslovakia in 1968 and worked for Richard Rogers then Norman Foster before founding Future Systems in 1979. Kaplicky in 2002 published a book entitled Confessions. Jan Kaplicky and Amanda Levete had a son, Josef.
Future Systems - Practice Information:
Studio based in British capital
Address: 21C Conduit Place, London W2 1HS, UK
Contact: Phone +44 (0)20 7723 4141 E-mail: Email@future-systems.com
English Buildings I Contemporary Architects I London Architects
World Architecture : e-architect - key buildings across the globe
Buildings / photos for the Future Systems Architects page welcome:
info@e-architect.co.uk
Lords Cricket Ground Media Stand: Stirling Prize Winner 1999
Future Systems - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt
Website: www.future-systems.com
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