Speed Date / IRAKLI ERISTAVI, architect, zerozero
Where are you from?
From Prešov/ Tbilisi.
Where did you study?
In Bratislava.
Who was your best teacher?
Older class- and course-mates.
Who were/ are your parents?
My mum is a doctor, my dad an engineer / hydrogeologist.
What don’t you enjoy in design?
Trendiness.
And on the contrary, what do you?
Commonness.
What do you listen to?
Mostly electronics.
Your favourite film or cartoon?
Assasination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford, The Simpsons, Fargo.
Who do you respect as an authority in and out of your field
There are a couple of them. They are basically people who do things honestly, fairly and
without any unnecessary swagger. Whether in a professional or private life.
What thing did you last buy?
Sneakers.
Do you buy professional literature? What was the latest book?
Not really. Some pdfs usually find their way to me. Last time I paid for the access to the
bookmate library, because of the Aureli’s book Less is Enough. But I still didn’t manage to open it.
Do you vote?
I do.
Who throws best parties?
Wave Club in Prešov.
Your favourite dome?
Pantheon.
Party dress. Made by…?
I usually wear Carhartt. To work or to a party.
Your hero from the past?
Kazimir Malevich and Nick Cave.
Best/nicest house?
Rather the best one than the nicest one. Last it was San Cataldo cemetery by Aldo Rossi
in Modena that took my breath away.
Do you have any stereotypes when you work? How do they show?
I like all those initial doodles and design models. In addition I'm a bit superstitious, the
sketch with number 13 irritates me big time.
What’s on your desktop?
Quite a pretty mess.
Best exhibition, work of art?
Chapman brothers in Prague – Rudolfinum and Magdaléna Jetelová at Veletržní (Trade
Fair) Palace, but thats been a while. Lately maybe Filla/Fulla exhibition in the Slovak
National Gallery.
What do you respect both from the local and foreign design scene? And why?
From the local scene: Kusý-Paňák for the older generation. From my co-travellers: Jano
Studený, gutgut, Plural, N/A, Total Studio. And when it comes to foreign designers, its
Francesca Torzo who lately caught my attention.
Ethics or money?
The first one, but I dont mind money.
Extraordinary book?
At the moment I am high on Nabokov, so The Real Life of Sebastian Knight.
Optimist, pessimist, nihilist?
A moderate optimist.
Do you have any hobby?
Sport, fiction and film.
Solo or in a collective?
Mostly solo, but if in a collective, then it has to be a small one. Work in a collective for
sure. A small one.
Slovakia as the Promised Land?
Just like any other.