Marcela Steinbachová
artist in residence August 2014, Czech Republic /
Statement
I visited Vienna as an exchange student of the University of Applied Arts 14 years ago. The stay has had a big influence on me not only as a future architect but also as a participator of discussions in architecture. At that time, I really appreciated the city’s culture and intellectual environment. I visited an architectural event almost every week. When I returned to Prague, I missed something. I was thinking of how to bring some of the Vienna atmosphere back to my home. And... I founded the civic association KRUH (Circle) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. We started to organise a cycle of lectures on architecture held by Czech and foreign architects and architecture critics. In the Czech Republic, we were the first to organize such lectures. During 13 years of our activity, we have provided almost 200 lectures, three excursions abroad, two film festivals on architecture, an exhibition and three collective anthologies with texts on architecture. All our activities gained both a favourable public response (200–500 visitors per lecture, 2000 visitors at a film festival) and a response of the professional press (awarded Architekt Magazine Prize in 2003). As a celebration of our 10 years’ activity we started to organise a public festival on architecture (Architecture Day) all over the Czech Republic. It comprises architectural trips, walks, presentations and discussions with young architects, theoreticians and architectural activists. The festival takes place in around 50 cities of the Czech Republic. Aim of our activities has always been to initiate dialogues about both Czech and international high-quality architecture and to open up architecture to the general public. It was Vienna which stood at the beginning of all my activities with KRUH. After 14 years I would like to discover more and find new colleagues, themes etc.
To summarize: It will be very helpful for me to meet other colleagues and to suck in the atmosphere of the city of Vienna and it’s Museums Quartier. I would like to find inspiration for my work as an architect, to discover new ways of thinking about architecture and to develop some of my ideas concerning the way of dealing with a city and making it better for the public.
Biography
Marcela Steinbachová is an architect. She was born 1975 in Prague where she still lives and works. She studied at the Institute for Liberal Education of Charles University and continued to study architecture at the University of Applied Arts with Martin Rajniš. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Emil Přikryl as her teacher. As a visiting student she studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna with Wolf De Prix, Coop Himmelb(l)au. She was also a visiting student at the Cooper Union in New York and took part in the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts.
She is the founder and chairperson of the civic association Kruh (www.kruh.info) and the festival Architecture Day (www.denarchitektury.cz). The goal of both organisations is to open up architecture to the public. Activities of Kruh include an ongoing cycle of lectures held by leading Czech and foreign architects and architecture critics as well as educational programmes and related events.
2007–2011 Marcela Steinbachová worked as a teaching assistant at the Architecture School of Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Since 2012, she has worked as a responsible editor at the Czech architectural journal ERA 21. At this moment she is doing her Ph.D. at the Architecture School of the Academy with Professor Emil Přikryl.
Awards
1st Prize - Reconstruction of a house in Choceň and an addition building in the yard
1st Prize - Competition for the National Technical Museum - Exhibition of Transport History
Hlávka Prize for the best project at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
Interior of the Year 2005, nomination (with J. Hofman)
Vitrablok Design Award
External Links
KRUH
ARCHITECTURE DAY
SKUPINA