"10 Questions to..." is a series of short interviews with architects and female architects, to whom we address the same pool of questions. For today's mini-interview, we invited Eliza Kalata and Szymon Kalata of Warsaw-based Kalata Architekci.
Eliza Kalata studied architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, the University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit, USA, the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich (ETH), Switzerland, at Studio Basel under Profs. Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron and Prof. Flora Ruchat-Roncati. She gained professional experience in the United States working for Archive Design Studio in Detroit and in Zurich, Switzerland at Enzmann Fischer Architects, Frank Zierau Architect, Bearth & Deplazes Architects and Meili & Peter Architects. He has been running the Kalata Architekci studio together with Szymon Kalata since 2010.
1. architecture in three words...?
a. Location.
b. Site specifics - local conditions.
c. Material, color and proportions.
2. the three most important buildings for you...?
a. Mother's house, Villa Le Lac in Corseaux, proj.: Le Corbusier.
b. Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, proj.: Mies van der Rohe.
c. Church of the Light in Ibaraki, proj.: Tadao Ando.
3. the most important book about architecture...?
Andrea Deplazes "Architektur konstruieren: Vom Rohmaterial zum Bauwerk".
4. most inspiring city and why...?
Rome because of its urban planning.
5. architect with whom you would like to design something and why...?
Christian Kerez.
6. hand drawing or computer drawing?
Hand-drawn.
7. mockup or 3D model?
Mock-up, while a 3D model is also helpful.
8. Modernism or postmodernism?
Modernism.
9. After-hours work or sports?
Sports.
10. architecture or business?
Architecture.
Szymon Kalata studied architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich (ETH), Switzerland, under the guidance of Professor Hans Kollhoff and Christian Kerez. He gained professional experience at O'Brien's & Associates Inc. in Dallas, USA, Stanislaw Fisher's Atelier 41, MET Architektur in Zurich, Switzerland, and the Warsaw offices of JK Architekci and JSK Architekci. Since 2010, together with Eliza Kalata, they have been running Kalata Architekci office.
1. architecture in three words...?
a. Permanence.
b. Utility.
c. Beauty.
2. the three most important buildings for you...?
a. Casa Malaparte, proj.: Adalberto Libera.
b. Kimbell Art Museum, proj.: Louis Kahn.
c. Unrealized 50 × 50-foot single-family house project, proj.: Mies van der Rohe.
3. the most important book on architecture...?
Andrea Palladio's "Four Books on Architecture."
4. most inspiring city and why...?
New York for its organic form.
5. Architect with whom you would like to design something and why...?
I don't know.
6. Hand drawing or computer drawing?
Hand-drawn.
7. mockup or 3D model?
Mock-up.
8. modernism or postmodernism?
Modernism.
9. After-hours work or sports?
Work.
10. architecture or business?
Good architecture ≠ business.
If you have suggestions for questions you would like us to ask, or people of architects whose answers to these questions you would like to know - let us know in the comments.
