Jan Kaplický (1937-2009): Homage to an Extraordinary Life of Unfulfilled Dreams and Major Successes

• Published in: Architectural design Vol. 79; no. 4; pp. 100 - 107
• Main Author: Margolius, Ivan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.07.2009
• Subjects: 1928-30; 1943; 1992; 1994; 1999; 2007; 2008; Adolf Loos; Adolf Loos and Karel Lhota; Adolf Loos and Karel Lhota, Villa Müller, Prague, Czech Republic, 1928‐30; Amanda Levete; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; Antoine de Saint‐Exupéry, Lettre à un Otage, 1943; Antonin Dvořák Concert and Congress Centre Project; Antonin Dvořák Concert and Congress Centre Project, Čtyří Dvory, České Budějovice, Czech Republic, 2008; Bedrich Stefan; Bertrand Goldberg; Birmingham; Centre Pompidou; Charles Eames' furniture; Constructivist architecture; Craig Ellwood; Czech Republic; Czechoslovakia; David Nixon; Denys Lasdun; Eliška Fuchsova; Foster Associates; Franz Kafka memorial plaque; Future Systems; Future Systems, Hauer King House, Islington, London, 1992; Hauer King House; Hong Kong Shanghai Bank; Islington; Jan Zrzavý; Jaromír Krejcar's Paris Czechoslovak Exhibition Pavilion; Jean Prouvé; Josef Havlíček's and Karel Honzik's Prague Pension Institute building; Josef Kaplický; Josef Sudek; Le Corbusier; Lettre à un Otage; Life; London; Lord's NatWest Media Centre; Lord's NatWest Media Centre, Marylebone Cricket Club, London, 1994; Louis de Soissons' practice; Ludvik Kysela's Bat'a building; Maginot Line; Marshall-Andrews House; Marshall‐Andrews House, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 1994; Marylebone Cricket Club; military defence bunkers; monocoque skin; National Library of the Czech Republic; National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic, 2007; Oldrich Tyl's Trade Fair; Oscar Niemeyer; Pavel Janák's Julis Hotel; Pavel Smetana; Pembrokeshire; Piano & Rogers; Prague; Richard Buckminster Fuller's houses; Richard Buckminster Fuller‘s houses, Charles Eames’ furniture; Rudolf Margolius; Selfridges Department Store; Selfridges Department Store, Birmingham, 1999; Terminal 5; Villa Müller; Wales; YRM (Yorke Rosenberg Mardall); České Budějovice; Čtyří Dvory
• ISSN: 0003-8504; 1554-2769
• DOI: 10.1002/ad.926

Jan Kaplický's visionary work for Future Systems was some of the most imaginative and inspiring of the last few decades. His passion and excitement for architecture exudes through such remarkable forms as the Lord's Media Centre and Selfridges in Birmingham. It was also effectively disseminated through his publications: most notably the For Inspiration Only picture books that he produced for Wiley‐Academy in the late 1990s. A staunch believer in the power of books and journals, he was a loyal supporter of AD and an editorial board member for many years; always generous with his time and willing to express his ideas candidly. Here, close friend and fellow Czech architect and writer Ivan Margolius, celebrates not only Kaplicky the architect, but also the extraordinary life and sensibility of the man behind his work. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.