"10 Questions to..." is a series of short conversations with architects and female architects, to whom we address the same pool of questions. In today's installment of the mini-interview, Jerzy Lątka, founder of the paper architecture design and research platform Archi-tecture, talks about the most important book and inspiring contrasts in Kyoto, Japan.
Jerzy Lątka - architect and scientist associated with the Faculty of Architecture at the Wrocław University of Technology. He has gained professional and scientific experience in Poland, Great Britain, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands and Germany, among other countries. He is primarily concerned with the possibilities of using paper to realize innovative constructions, as well as temporary, relief, housing and social architecture.
1. architecture in three words...?
a. Function.
b. System.
c.Perception.
(After architect Zeev Baran).
2. the three most important buildings for you...?
a. Paper Log House, designed by Shigeru Ban, 1995.
b. Farnsworth House, proj.: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1951.
c. Rudolf Petersdorff Department Store (or the so-called Chameleon) in Breslau, proj.: Erich Mendelsohn, 1928.
3. most important book on architecture...?
Witold Rybczynski "Home. A brief history of ideas".
4. most inspiring city and why...?
Kyoto. A city in a country of advanced technology and automation, where there is one vending machine for every twenty-three residents, where mock-ups of food stand on restaurant windows and, on the other hand, where you can find deer drinking water in the middle of the city by the Kamo River. Where the quietest temple corners are located, where a gardener on his knees with scissors trims shrubs all day long. I'm also fascinated by this tension between the old and new capital of Japan, a bit like Tel Aviv's relationship with Jerusalem, but in a completely different context.
5. architect you would like to design something with and why...?
Peter Zumthor. I would like to experience his sensual approach to architecture, the way he creates, his consideration of details and materials. And also get to know him as a philosopher.
6. hand drawing or computer drawing?
Always hand-drawing at first.
7. mockup or 3D model?
Mock-up.
8. modernism or postmodernism?
It's hard to unequivocally categorize and choose. Aesthetically, probably modernism, although recent events related to the demolition of the Wroclaw Solpol, a symbol of Polish postmodernism, make us pay attention to the importance of this trend in our history.
9. working after hours or sports?
Working after hours... unfortunately.
10. architecture or business?
Architecture.
Check out the conversation with Jerzy Lątka in the series Awakenings:
