"10 Questions to..." is a series of short interviews with architects and female architects, to whom we address the same pool of questions. In today's installment of the mini-interview about inspiring cities, honesty with clients and herself, visualization and business, Katarzyna Kuo Stolarska, founder of KUOO architects, answered.
Katarzyna Kuo Stolarska - a graduate of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technical University of Lodz. From 2000 to 2007 she created projects in her own studio - Rydzyńska Studio, from 2006 to 2012 she ran Rydzyńska Design studio, which for nine years has been operating under a new name - KUOO architects. Co-founder of the Society of Interior Designers (SAW).
1. architecture in three words...?
a. Passion.
b. Sincerity.
c. Mission.
2. the three most important buildings for you...?
a. Casa en la Ladera de un Castillo, Ayora, Spain, proj: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos.
b. House in Leiria, Portugal, proj.: Aires Mateus.
c. New Art Museum, New York, USA, proj.: SANAA.
3. the most important book on architecture...?
Ayn Rand's "The Source."
No other book hit me with such force as this one. It was a reflection of what has always been in me and not always met with understanding. It shows that acting according to ideals and being true to oneself are difficult, but also incredibly valuable. It defines us personally and professionally. For years I have said openly that I don't accept assignments I don't feel. Because of honesty with clients, but also with myself. You can't do well something you don't feel.... In architecture, as in love, you can't cheat. The road to success is often longer, but the effect it brings is lasting and you can easily look yourself in the eye, and the satisfaction of what you do is great.
4 Most inspiring city and why...?
Many cities I have visited have inspired me. Each one differently. Singapore gave me faith that you can build beautiful, green and clean cities. Barcelona or Lisbon showed me that beauty is also hidden in styles that are not necessarily "mine", but by doing so it colors our lives, adds color. Hong Kong, a city from the future - fast, crowded and extremely technologically developed. But perhaps New York appealed to me the most - a total mix of styles and the freedom to create. Perhaps what appealed to me most was the image freedom of the people I passed there. There are no rules about the style of dress there, you can go out on the streets in the craziest outfit you can think of. No one judges anyone. How people look is also the architecture of the city. Growing up in such image freedom opens your head from childhood. To otherness, craziness.... This has a huge impact on how you approach what you do in the future, it gives you the courage to act as you feel, not as others expect you to.
5. architect you would like to design something with and why...?
John Pawson. Less is more in a masterful edition. It takes so few elements to make an interior finished and beautiful. I would love to see him at work :)
Patricia Urquiola. Another side of the coin. She shows how to mix and match beautifully. Colors, patterns, materials. This is something I think I have a problem with all the time, because I'm always afraid that something exaggerated and forceful will come out. You have to have it in your blood, otherwise it won't come out :)
6. hand drawing or computer drawing?
Both. As a child who sat under my dad's drawing board and as an architecture student who didn't have a computer until my third year, I was awed by the idea that computer drawing could supplant hand-drawing. The whole procedure, tracing papers, rapidographs, and hand-drawn creation process were like handicrafts to me. However, things quickly changed. Is it worse? No, it is different. But as in everything, the time factor is a key factor. And we can't fool ourselves that computer drawing is created faster.
7. mockup or 3D model?
I have been active in interior design since I graduated. It's hard to talk about mock-ups here. Therefore, definitely a 3D model. However, over time I see that we have become slaves to visualizations. The more realistic they are, the more the client demands. Abroad, visualizations are very rarely ordered because it is a very expensive service. In Poland it is a must have. However, over time, we ourselves see that they are not only needed by clients, but also by us - we design while creating visualizations. We don't just use them to convey our vision to the client. We look at whether specific elements fit visually, compositionally, whether the scale of a particular element fits into the interior. Perhaps it's possible to do things differently, but we've been working this way for twenty years, and it's the only way we can be sure that what we send to the client is one hundred percent proven and reliable. At the moment, nothing in the implementation is able to surprise me.
8: Modernism or postmodernism?
Definitely modernism. Simplicity always wins. In my opinion, strength in architecture lies in quality, not quantity. The purity of the idea. The idea, context and relationships are important. I appreciate all styles, respect the needs from which they arose and their creators. Like many things in the world, they teach me tolerance and humility, but they are not "my fairy tale." The classics of modernism are true symbols of courage and new thinking. To date, this type of architecture is sometimes difficult to receive, there are those who do not understand and do not like it. It used to have to shock :)
9. work after hours or sport?
Memes about architects hit the spot. Architect at work, architect after work, architect on vacation, architect in lockdown or after. It practically always looks the same. To this, in my case, add three children and ask yourself "when the sport?". Perhaps it's a matter of organization, but working half my life fourteen hours a day, after nights, I lack the self-denial to fly to the gym at seven in the morning. I have wonderful memories of the years when I coached basketball, but that chapter of my life ended exactly when I started studying architecture. Classes ten hours a day, drawing in the evenings and nights. And it stayed that way for a long time. It wasn't until a few years ago that I matured to not take my work home. Although, running my own office, this is still hardly possible. However, as you get older, you begin to care more and understand that an architect is not obliged to be available 24/7 and also has the right to private time. However, I realized this too late.... but I guess it's a matter of my generation. The new generation can take care of itself from the very beginning, mine had to fight for what it has. What counted was hard work to achieve something, to strike out. Now everything comes easier.
10 - Architecture or business?
Once only architecture, which, as it turned out, has nothing to do with business. As architects, we are not taught to manage a team, time and budget. And that's a shame, because we work for years based on our hobby. No one initially treats this profession as a business to bring in money. We are supposed to be professionally fulfilled. One can go hand in hand with the other. Only a few years ago, after twenty years of running our own business, we decided to approach the subject purely mathematically. Unfortunately, twenty years too late :) It reached me that the billing accepted in architecture, the rates and the time we spend on work are absolutely not compatible. This is a topic for another article :) We have accustomed clients to lump sum billing giving them unlimited possibilities for changes and the amount of our time. We know well what a lump sum results in when billing for water or heating: the sky is the limit. That's why we have been working only on an hourly billing basis for some time. Everyone is happy. A customer who makes decisions quickly, decisively and precisely pays adequately for the time spent. A customer who wants ten versions and is going around in circles also has to pay for the time spent. However, he quickly finds that he can focus more, doesn't need new visualizations when changing the color of the "blanket" and begins to respect our time and, in fact, his money. We do the settlements once a month, which ensures the company's liquidity. I remember well the time when payments were received once every six months and hair turned gray with each payment. Still, or maybe again, architecture is my hobby, because there were times when I thought about changing my profession. Now I enjoy it again and it brings me fulfillment.
