Speed Date / ALEŠ ŠEDIVEC, architect, totalstudio

Where are you from?
Horná Ždaňa, from a house with an under-roof porch opposite the church and the council. But I’ve lived most of my life in Bratislava.

Where did you study?
The Faculty of Architecture of the Slovak University of Technology and The Academy of Fine Arts.

Who was your best teacher?
I’ve never experienced a so-called master studio, so there were more best teachers. After years at the architecture, the Imro Vašek’s studio was crucial for me. Later, we participated in the City Visions Europe project for a few months, so the collective there taught me a lot. Sometimes I ask myself how the London’s AOC where I was an intern would look at things. And today my son teaches me.

Who were/ are your parents?
My father is mainly a pigeon keeper and my mum is in charge of the facility of social services.

What don’t you enjoy in design?
Too much design, plastic and its relationship to market capitalism.

And on the contrary, what do you?
Maximum out of minimum, responsibility, poetics and such things.

What do you listen to?
Today I’m listening to Talk Talk.

Your favourite film or cartoon?
Lately I’ve enjoyed for example Sicario, Paterson, Logan Lucky, Masaryk, Blade Runner 2049…

Who do you respect as an authority in and out of your field?
Everyone with the ability to surprise me repeatedly, on a long-term basis. Rem Koolhaas, Kersten Geers, Jan De Vylder, Alena Šrámková, Coen brohter, Roger Federer… And even more respect goes to the ones who can do it here, in this backwoods.

What thing did you last buy?
A watch, but I got scared and gave it away.

Do you buy professional literature? What was the latest book?
I regularly buy only San Rocco and El Croquis, yeah, the latest one was El Croquis – Sergison Bates.

Do you vote?
I do, I do… The last election was a ruffle.

Who throws the best parties?
No idea. But the best party sausages are made in Looshaus in Kreuzberg.

Your favourite dome?
Espresso coffee maker La Cupolla designed by Aldo Rossi for Alessi.

A party dress. Made by…?
Dress by party!

Hero from the past?
From my past, it was Robin Hood.

Best/nicest house?
Rotonda, Karma, Muller, Savoye, Malaparte, Bordeaux, dall´Ava, Dutch House… There are thousands of best houses, you can’t measure it like in sports. But it’s interesting that all the houses that came to my mind were built before the 21st century. Contemporary building has actually started to resemble sport quite a lot – what matters is numbers, time and budget.

Do you have any stereotypes when you work? How do they show?
My stereotype over the past months is a lot of calls, mails and meetings. And what’s left is coffee at nine and lunch at one, which shows like this: we make coffee at nine and go for lunch at one.

What’s on your desktop?
Blue.

Best exhibition, work of art?
Right now it’s Krištof Kintera in Prague’s Rudolfinum and stuck in my mind is David Hockney in Nottingham Contemporary.

What do you respect both from the local and foreign design scene? And why?
I respect work of high quality on a long-term basis, adamant and lacking obsession with originality.

Ethics or money?
Peace to the world!

Extraordinary book?
Right now I have two books on Adolf Loos written by his two wives. Adolf Loos – A Private Portrait by Claire Beck-Loos and My Life with Adolf Loos by Elsie Altmann-Loos.

Optimist, pessimist, nihilist?
Idealist.

Do you have any hobby?
Unfortunately, I have nothing else than a hobby. I really don’t know where people get those positive news from, if they don’t watch sport.

Solo or in a collective?
In a collective.

Slovakia as the Promised Land?
I often think if fear was not the only reason why I still haven’t left for… But the globalisation is just awfully boring.

 

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