"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 the most inspiring city, the most important buildings and who he would like to have a chance to design with, Przemysław Nowak of the Mili Młodzi Ludzie studio answered.
Przemysław Nowak - a graduate of Poznań University of Technology, co-founder of the Poznań-based design group Mili Młodzi Ludzie, which has been active since 2012.
1. architecture in three words...?
Human. Space. Projection.
2. The three most important buildings for you...?
Brother Klaus Field Chapel designed by Peter Zumthor in the German village of Wachendorf. Museo Jumex in Mexico designed by David Chipperfield Architect. The metamorphosis of Bois Le Prêtre in Paris carried out by Druot, Lacaton & Vassal.
3. most important book on architecture...?
I don't have a particularly important book for me, but if I had to point to one, it would be "Home. A Brief History of Ideas" by Witold Rybczynski.
4. most inspiring city and why...?
Sarajevo. When you walk around it, the city shows its extraordinary history through space. Old European architecture mixes with Middle Eastern architecture and architecture of the post-war period from 1945 to the breakup of Yugoslavia. The history of the city's siege and the adaptations that were made to the urban fabric can be seen at every turn. During the last war (1992-1995) people were buried wherever they could. There are graves in parks, in the vacant lots of quarters where a bombed-out tenement house became a cemetery. The approach of Sarajevo residents to space and the city is quite different from, for example, in Warsaw, although both cities have a difficult history behind them. There is no pomposity in Sarajevo, and residents do not treat every patch of land as a place of worship. It would be impossible to do so, because the entire city would have to become a cemetery. Nowadays, in classic Austrian parks, people take picnics next to tombstones. Graves here are simply elements of small architecture - you can celebrate, play or cry next to them. No one is prevented from living normally, though perhaps it's because there is no other way.
5. architect with whom you would like to design something and why...?
Peter Zumthor. Apparently, Zumthor oversees construction personally, taking care of details, materials, their quality, detail treatments, etc. Since the construction process itself is also important, I would dream of experiencing with this gentleman the entire process of creating a building - not only the design stage, but also the construction stage.
6. hand-drawing or computer drawing?
Only hand-drawn. Hands think better and faster. Although technology helps.
7. mockup or 3D model?
I prefer mockups, but we rarely have the opportunity to create them.
8. modernism or postmodernism?
It doesn't matter at all.
9. Work after hours or sports?
Rather, meeting with friends. And playing board games and computer games together.
10. architecture or business?
Space. Neither architecture nor business. Fortunately, my work is not an election to the Polish parliament. I can achieve my design goals by making good space and make a living out of it.
You can find the projects of the Mili Młodzi Ludzie studio in the offices tab on our portal.
