"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, Jozef Franczok and Marcin Kolanus of the PORT studio in Wroclaw will answer our questions.
Jozef Fran czok is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Wroclaw University of Technology. He also studied in Spain, and gained professional experience in design studios in Poland and Colombia. Since 2012, he has co-founded the PORT studio in Wroclaw.
1. architecture in three words...?
a. Body.
b. The psyche.
c. Spirit.
This is what buildings are made of, and this is what buildings should affect.
2: The three most important buildings for you are?
a. The thermal baths in Vals, proj.: Peter Zumthor.
b. Caritas Library in Opole, proj.: Antoni Domicz.
c. Nový Dvůr Monastery, proj.: John Pawson - I have not seen this building in person.
3. most important book on architecture...?
Hard to say. I was once very impressed by a film about Oscar Niemeyer and it even had some influence on my choice of career path. From books, many years ago Antoine de Saint-Exupéry' s "Fortress" and its passages about silence enchanted in stones, then essays by Peter Zumthor, but the influence on what kind of architect I am also had many texts completely non-architectural, for example, texts by Krzysztof Grzywocz, fiction, poetry by Jorge Luis Borges or Różewicz, texts by Kaczmarski.
4. most inspiring city and why...?
I was greatly impressed by Medellín through the complexity and multidimensionality of its transformation, beauty and social aspect. Chandigarh, often described as a misguided attempt, positively enchanted, yet made an impression as a good and friendly place to live against the backdrop of crowded, polluted and chaotic Indian urban organisms. Madrid and Barcelona, because I didn't like either of these cities the first time, gave the impression of being cold and austere, but with each subsequent visit they allowed me to discover some unusual nook in them, a new magical place. Each of them with each subsequent visit makes me fall in love with them a little more. And of course Porto, because it is enchanted and beautiful.
5. architect with whom you would like to design something and why...?
With Antonio Jiménez Torrecillas, unfortunately now deceased. He impressed me as an extraordinary, warm-hearted, humble man and had a unique sensitivity of form and material, and created wonderful buildings. Of course, there are also many other great architects with whom we would love to work, you can then see what you yourself are closed to, more pairs of eyes can see more.
6. hand drawing or computer drawing?
Both drawing and computer are tools to verbalize a design. Design for me runs in the mind and the tool is of secondary importance. Sketches have their own consultative and conceptual value and are quick at this stage, while computers are indispensable for developing technical documentation. Both, when used in this way, maximize the work on the project.
7 Mock-up or 3D model?
Depends on the situation, one or the other.
8. modernism or postmodernism?
Poetic modernism as in the works of Álvar Sizy Vieira or Mies van der Rohe.
9. working after hours or sports?
There should be a balance in life, so work, even when it is a passion, should not take up all the time. Sports, especially those that engage us one hundred percent and require total concentration, such as climbing or martial arts, wonderfully allow the mind to rest. Time for reflection, recreation, sports, family, ties, also give energy and inspiration for work.
10 - Architecture or business?
There is no either-or. These fields intermingle, such is the modern reality, it is important to find the right balance.
If you have suggestions for questions you would like us to ask, or people of architects whose answers to these questions you want to know - let us know in the comments.
