Architecture competition Teamakers Guest House Honorable mention - Martin Hudec, David Král and Ondřej Kurečka

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of the Honorable mention of our “Teamakers Guest House ” competition - Martin Hudec, David Král and Ondřej Kurečka from Czech Republic!

Martin Hudec, David Král and Ondřej Kurečka from Czech Republic

One of the easiest ways to express your idea is through drawing. Almost every kid has a pencil and a paper as a how to get lost in another world. In a world which is limited only by one’s creativity. Drawing space stations and foreign planets have eventually led us to study architecture. We have chosen this field because there an idea could become a real thing.

An idea is the central element of our design process, from the first sketch to the final brick on a construction site. During our academic and professional path, we have learnt that it demands an extensive amount of experience and skills to become a great architect.

A university gives you the necessary background and it points you in the right direction towards this goal. All of us have a background in architecture, although each of us have taken a different path. We are a group of two students and one freelancer from the Czech Republic. A country which is well known for its historical sights and long tradition in architecture. David and Ondřej have been studying architecture in Brno, a town with many famous buildings from the functionalism era. Martin started studying architecture in Prague. After gaining his undergraduate degree, he continued abroad to Oxford, where he successfully finished his postgraduate programme.

But university is just a starting point. Once we were in practice for the first time, we learned what it really takes to get something built. Martin has been working on a large variety of projects of different scale, in different stages; and in different offices for six years. For the last three years he has been an independent freelancer and recently passed his board exams. He is a fully qualified architect in the Czech Republic. Although David and Ondřej are still studying architecture at university, they have been involved in practice since the beginning of their studies. They have been gaining extensive experience in the field as well.

All three of us have met in practice and over time we have built a friendship which evolved into our architectural collaboration. This collaboration was often fuelled by discussions revolving around what architecture actually means.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Everybody has their own vision of the world. According to that vision, they interact with the outer environment. These individual visions often collide with each other. The result is the world we live in. In the physical space, architecture is one of the professions which deals with these collisions. But an architect is much more than just their mediator.

Every place has a hidden story. An architect’s role is to find it and tell it to the audience. Every site has such an opportunity and every architect has an obligation to reveal it to the public. Instead of writing a book, architect creates space of unique quality. This quality does not come from the bricks, concrete or stone used for the construction. But it comes from the combination of all the elements. Everything has to be in harmony and working together as one coherent piece of art. Only by this subtle way an architect can tell a story. If it is a good story you do not even realize that you have been told one. You do not realize that you have become a part of it.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Mostly, it is a land and its people which are the backbone of such a story. Unfortunately, the fast-paced tempo of an architectural practice does not often allow much space to develop a design around this fundamental topic.

On the other hand, architecture vision competitions give you much greater opportunity to develop a philosophy on topics like these. This philosophy then justifies the design. It is an exploratory process, where one can test his/ her new approach to the design. New skills gained through participating in a competition could be employed afterwards in practice. This is one example how architecture vision competitions contribute to the quality of the profession. Another reason why one should participate in an architecture competition could be the benefits coming from the act of competing itself.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture vision competitions? 

Having an ambition to discover a new idea is a liberating feeling. If you believe that idea could make the world a better place, it gives you a drive which enables you to come up with unexpected results. It is a process where you develop your skills further and expand your limits. Once that idea is out there in the world and recognized by others, it is a joyful moment in our lives. No matter in what competition you consider participating, believe us it is always worth the effort.