Honorary Chairman of APDF International Council, Member of IAI Design Award Academic Committee

The famous architect of the Czech Republic, the master of Czech national treasures, is famous for her attention to detail and obvious modern style. Her famous steel glass staircase design has influenced countless designers. Eva has been honored as a visiting professor at many major European and American universities such as the University of Sheffield, the University of Nottingham, and the University of Nottingham, and has been awarded the Gold Medal of theRoyal Institute of British Architects. In 1993,she was awarded the honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and was awarded the United States in 2006. Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Architects, awarded the Lifetime Architectural Contribution Award by the Czech Ministry of Culture in 2007, the JaneDrew Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, and the British King George Medal in 2015 by the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade.

PROFESSOR EVA JIRICNA

RIBA, RA, CBE, RDI, DTECH(HON), FRCA(HON), AIA(HON, FRSA, AA(HON)

QUALIFICATIONS  

1973Royal Institute of British Architects Diploma in Architecture

1963 – 1967  Postgraduate Degree Prague Academy of Fine Arts - Master degree

1956 – 1962  Technical University of Prague : Architect / Engineer - Diploma

EXPERIENCE

1962 – 1968Research Institute of Fashion and Industrial Design, Prague

1968 – 1969GLC (Greater London Council): department architect

1969 –1980Louis de Soissons Partnership : Associate / Project Architect for Brighton Marina scheme (ten year development, value ￡150 million)

1980 –1982Richard Rogers Partnership : group leader for Lloyd’s of London HQ building (all interior packages)

1982 – presentPrincipal of private practice, Eva Jiricna Architects Limited

1999 – presentPrincipal of private practice, AI – DESIGN Czech Republic

AWARDS

1990    Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Art

1991    Royal Designer for Industry

1993    Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Arts

1994    C.B.E (Commander of the British Empire)

Awarded for Services to Interior Design

1994 – 1996 Member of RIBA Council

1996    Honorary Fellow, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland

1997    Elected as Academician to The Royal Academy of Arts

Member of RA Council & various committees

1998Inducted into US Hall of Fame Interior Design

2000Honorary Doctorate of Technology, Southampton Institute

Honorary Doctorate of Technology, Technical Institute of Brno, Czech Republic

2002Professor of Architecture & Design, University of Applied                     Arts, Prague

Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters, University of Sheffield

Excellence Award for contribution to International Design (University of Guanajuato, Mexico)

2003 - 2005President of Architectural Association, London

2005 - 2006    Design Review Panel member for CABE

Trustee and Founder Member of London Open City

Advisor to Civic Trust National Awards Panel

Member of Royal Institute of British Architect’s Gold Medal Jury (x 6)

Jury Chair for RIBA Regional Awards 2005

2006    Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Architects

2008    Honorary Degree, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Nottingham

Honorary Degree, Doctor of Philosophy, Metropolitan University London

2009Award for Life Long Contribution to Architecture, Czech Ministry of Culture

Honorary Degree, Doctorate of Technology, University of Bratislava

2010Honorary Doctor of Arts, De Montfort University, Leicester\Prince Philip Designer’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement – Nomination

2011Honorary Doctorate for Lifetime Achievement, Tomas Bata University, Zlin

2013Honorary Doctorate, Royal College of Arts

Honorary Membership of Architectural Association

2014Jane Drew prize, awarded for Lifetime Achievement in architecture

2015King George Medal, awarded by Czech Ministry of Industry & Trade

2018Ambassador of the Czech Republic, awarded by Czech Top 100

Lifetime Achievement Medal, awarded by London Design Festival

Joze Plecnik prize, awarded for Lifetime Achievement in architecture

TEACHING EXPERIENCE & CONTRIBUTION

1978 - 1981Teaching architecture studio at University of South London

1986 - 1987Visiting Professor at School of Architecture, Harvard

1993 - 2006Professor of Architecture at University of Applied Arts, Department Architecture and Design, Prague.

2013 - 2015Visiting Professor for Royal College of Arts, MA Interior Design module

1993 - 1998Oxford Brookes UniversityExternal Examiner :

1995 - 1998University of Sheffield

1997 - 1999University of Humberside & De Montfort University in Leicester

1998 - 1999University of Plymouth

1998 - 2000University of Bath

1998 - 2000Royal College of Art

2000 - 2003Architectural Association

2004 - 2007Westminster University

2008 - 2011Bartlett School of Architecture

VA JIRICNA ARCHITECTS LIMITED  &  AI - DESIGN CZECH REPUBLIC

Eva Jiricna Architects is an architectural and design practice based in London with an international portfolio of residential, commercial and retail interiors; furniture, products and exhibitions; private and public buildings. The practice is at the forefront of innovation in form and technology, with highly crafted and detailed designs employing classic materials – glass, steel and stone – in a modern language. The work aspires to the harmony of architecture and engineering, owing much to Eva’s original training in chemistry and mathematics.

As a multi-disciplinary practice, EJA provides a comprehensive service including the design of new buildings and public spaces as well as detailed interiors, products and furniture. The practice has won numerous international design awards and its work is regularly published in magazines, books and periodicals. Its clients include major corporate and public organisations such as Amec plc, Jubilee Line Extension, Andersen Consulting, Boodles Jewellers, the Royal Academy of Arts, Selfridges, Harrods, Victoria and Albert Museum, Somerset House, Tiffany Gallery for the New-York Historical Society. EJA has a strong collaborative track record, working closely with clients and other members of the design team, including engineers, landscape architects, cost consultants and urban designers.

EJA is run by its founder, Eva Jiricna, a Czech born architect who has been based in London since 1968. The London office has operated concurrently with the studio AI – DESIGN, co-founded by architect Petr Vagner and Eva in Prague 1999. Jiricna’s long career began with a job at the Greater London Council on her arrival in the UK in 1968, followed by the Louis de Soissons Partnership (she became Associate Architect) working on the Brighton Marina project for 10 years, and subsequently Richard Rogers Partnership, where she was responsible for some of the exterior and all of the interior design packages for the Lloyds HQ building in the City of London. With Jan Kaplicky and his practice Future Systems, she designed the Way In store at Harrods, an award winning scheme that influenced a generation of retail interiors, and which enabled her to start her own practice. She collaborated closely with and designed a string of shops and cafés for the Joseph fashion brand, creating her distinctive style of retail design which in turn brought in many commissions all over the world, notably for Joan & David Shoes with outlets in almost every major American city, as well as London and Paris, and Hugo Boss shops in Japan and Germany.

Eva’s signature design element, the staircase, is often incorporated into projects, intricately designed and engineered. Recent projects completed in the UK include the implementation of the Masterplan at the V&A and the new Bollinger Jewellery Gallery, Fine & Designer Jewellery halls for Harrods, and schemes for Boodles in prestigious locations throughout the UK. In 2014 a modern intervention in the West Wing of Somerset House included a new stair inserted within the historic fabric of the building, christened the ‘Miles Stair’ after the Client The practice is also continuously engaged with residential projects for discerning clients.

Since Eva’s arrival in the UK coincided with the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, she was unable to return for 22 years. Once she could travel to her native Prague, she committed herself to teaching at the University of Applied Arts, where she had herself studied, and having established an office in the city, AI-DESIGN, was able to win commissions, such as the new Orangery in Prague Castle’s gardens, the Andersen Consulting HQ offices in the Gehry building, and the new build Hotel Josef in Prague Old Town. Also following the ‘Velvet Revolution’ in 1989 she was able to re-establish her long standing friendship with Vaclav Havel, who became President of the new Czech Republic and with whom she went on to collaborate on various projects until his death in 2011. As a base for his humanitarian foundation, VIZE 97, they worked on the preservation and restoration of a medieval church, St Anne’s in Prague, serving as a multi-functional cultural centre, featuring symposia, lectures, conferences, performances etc. Together with AI - DESIGN, Eva also worked on and completed a major re-development in the centre of Zlin, Eva’s birthplace, comprising the new Tomas Bata University Library and associated Cultural Centre with a new project, a Faculty of Humanities, on site in 2017.

Over the years, Jiricna’s contribution to architecture and design has been recognised with many prestigious awards, including the title Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) ; she has been elected a Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts, made Hon Fellow A.I.A. (American Institute of Architects), and been bestowed a unique Lifetime Achievement Award by the Czech Ministry of Culture. She has been honoured with Doctorates (ten) and Professorships by many Universities. Eva has a strong commitment to architectural education in all its aspects, giving frequent talks and workshops to students as well as acting External Examiner for number of Universities. She participates frequently on architectural juries and lectures internationally on her work.