DESIGNS FOR LIFE
The Czech Republic has a rich design heritage, and today’s generation is doing it proud
The Czech Republic’s proud creative tradition lives on in a new generation
With its rows of concave and convex saucer-shaped panels, ice-smooth glass walls and audacious colour schemes, the Prague metro always piques visitor curiosity. Tourist attractions in their own right, the retro-futuristic stations provide an accessible introduction to modern Czech design, which deserves a much higher profile. This year, 30 years since the 1989 Velvet Revolution, offers the perfect opportunity to get acquainted.
There is much to explore, including interior and product design, and glassware, all of which have long enjoyed strong reputations. With their new thinking, young designers are reinvigorating these disciplines and showcasing Czech creativity, consequently attracting global exposure. “Today’s generation is successfully integrated into the design world, and everyone has the same chance to succeed in a Europe without borders,” notes Jan Nemecek of leading design studio Olgoj Chorchoj.
This echoes the internationalism of the celebrated interwar period, which coincided with the first two decades of Czechoslovakia’s existence. Functionalism swept the country, resulting in the likes of Prague’s effortlessly sleek Trade Fair Palace, which was built in the 1920s. Meanwhile, product design icons from the period included the Tatra 77 car, worthy of any sci-fi epic, and Jindrich Halabala’s armchairs, with sweeping armrest curves and pioneering use of tubular steel.
Everything changed in 1938, when the Nazi occupation set about eradicating the Czech national identity. The design scene was further plunged into darkness following 1948’s Communist putsch, which cut the country off from its Western neighbours, making it much more parochial.
Conversely, the communists adopted a money-noobject approach towards the public realm, most notably the Prague metro. Constructed mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, the stations boast lashings of natural materials, including marble, granite, limestone and aluminium. Meanwhile, at Karlovo Namesti (Charles Square) station,
the tubular glazed walls by
Frantisek Vizner celebrate the centuries-old Czech glassware tradition.
After the Velvet
Revolution, designers naturally wanted to catch up. Big names such as Borek Sipek and Otakar Diblik, who had fled communism, re-established connections and taught at art and design schools. “This sped up the process of revitalising product design. Encouraging students to gain experience abroad was invaluable for further highquality development,” says Jan Jaros of product design and architecture firm Cohnstudio. He also explains that long-established companies, for instance furniture producer Ton and crystal glass producer Moser, have been reinvigorated since 1989.
FRESH THINKING
When it comes to current trends, designers cite upcycling and taking a new approach to traditional crafts. “And, yes, we really love minimalism. I am also interested in the craze for concrete, in everything from speakers to jewellery and baths,” says Vaclav Cajanek, co-owner of product designer Clap Design. He and others observe that the design scene has moved much closer to that of Western Europe.
Nemecek says: “Small studios are not afraid to take risks and are trying to promote themselves on the European →
‘Small studios are not afraid to take risks and are becoming a driving force of trends’
scene. They are becoming a driving force of trends. Today, lots of renowned brands are just standing still, but in the Czech Republic I see an opportunity for new brands and also designers’ studios.”
Every October in Prague, practitioners showcase their work at the international Designblok festival, at which “the strength and variety of Czech designers is evident”, Jaros says. Designblok also provides a chance to meet the new cohort of Czech interior designers born after 1989. They are bringing a new perspective, observes Professor Jiri Pelcl, a leading interior designer. “I see inventiveness particularly in the interiors of young creatives, whose boutiques and workshops show evidence of a new visuality based on the rediscovery of traditional products and materials combined in unusual situations,” he says.
Czech glassmakers, traditionally based in the regions beyond Prague and long enjoying worldwide renown, are also taking new approaches to their craft, fusing glass production with other disciplines to great effect. The industry has received a boost from high-profile practitioners such as UK-based Czech architect Eva Jiricna, famous for her spiral glass staircases.
Another well-known figure, Maxim Velcovsky, creates simple, elegant glassworks, and collaborates with Lasvit, known among other things for bold, abstract chandeliers resembling ice sculptures. Velcovsky is optimistic about current trends. “Czech glass is again some of the best in the world, even when it cannot compete pricewise with producers from China and Turkey,” he says.
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