Eva Jiřičná

Eva Jiřičná CBE RA (born 3 March 1939) is a Czech architect and designer, active in London and Prague. She is the founder of the architectural atelier Eva Jiricna Architects, operating in Britain (at first as Jiřičná Kerr Associates) from 1982 to 2017 and a co-founder of AI DESIGN, that she opened in 1999 together with Petr Vágner. She is known for her attention to detail and work of a distinctly modern style, and for her glass staircases.
Since 1996 she has been the head of the Department of Architecture at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. In 2007, she was President of the International Commission levying a construction project of the new building of the National Library in Letná, Prague.
Jiřičná was born on 3 March 1939 in Zlín in the Second Czechoslovak Republic, twelve days before it became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under German occupation. She lived in Zlín till the age of four, when her whole family moved to Prague. She studied architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague until 1962 and also at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague – as a pupil of Jaroslav Fragner – where she earned an MA in 1963. After finishing school, she got her first job in state administration at ÚBOK – Ústav bytové a oděvní kultury (Institute of housing and clothing culture).
In 1968, Jiřičná gained a temporary work placement in London, working as an architect with the Greater London Council on social housing projects. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, her travel permit was annulled by the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Interior, so that she couldn't come back. She decided to stay in the United Kingdom and a year later, she became an associate in the Louis de Soissons Partnership. Here, she spent eight years working on design and construction of the Brighton Marina. In 1976, she became a British citizen. By the end of 1980 she had formed her own practice alongside David Hodges. From here, she began to be recognized for her work in architectural competitions with her business partner. During this time, Jiřičná also shifted from technical architectural projects to interior design assignments, but still incorporated the complexities of her architectural background. Jiřičná continued to gain recognition in the mid-eighties. She met fashion designer and entrepreneur Joseph Ettedgui, designing several of his Joseph retail shops in London, and eventually his own Knightsbridge flat. Her work on the interior design of Lloyd's Headquarters in London made her really noticed. She was later asked by Steve Jobs to work on the Apple store concept, but ultimately they went their separate ways. By 1985 she had formed Jiřičná Kerr Associates with Kathy Kerr, a practice which is still operating, now under the name of Eva Jiřičná Architects. Her business of ten team members works on projects including architecture, interior design, and furniture design.
After the Velvet Revolution, she began working on projects in the Czech Republic again. Jiřičná designed new Congress Centre and a new faculty building of the Tomas Bata University in her hometown of Zlín. She has also designed many new projects in Prague, including the Main hall of Komerční banka, the reconstruction of St. Anna Church in Old Town or the hotly contested project for replacing the old Central Telelecommunication Building near Žižkov freight railway station. Since 2019, Jiřičná has been the head of CBRE Art of Space Awards committee, judging the aesthetics of new office, retail and industrial spaces. In early 2021, Jiřičná's AI DESIGN won the tender for reconstruction of Věžák Tower, one of the dominants of Ostrava.
National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C467/127) with Eva Jiřičná in 2015-16 for its Architects Lives' collection held by the British Library.
She is an architect and interior designer, best known for her innovative use of industrial materials in retail and commercial spaces. Eva Jiřičná creatively fused her engineering and architecture background with interior design. By utilizing lighting effects and material characteristics, she maximized space in an intriguing manner. The understanding of architecture is perhaps responsible for this, Jiřičná was able to transform the sometimes unmanageable spaces of London's old buildings into usable area. While she gained recognition with architectural projects, her store design commissions were large contributions to her profession. She demonstrated how retail design could be treated with architectural concepts, strengthening the image of interior design. Jiřičná is also open about her strong dislike for wood and cushions.
Despite being on friendly terms with Zaha Hadid, Jiřičná also criticized her work, saying her "buildings are like statues of some kind, that only care about their own outer expression".
While studying architecture at CTU, one of Jiřičná's classmates was Pavel Bobek who later became a famous Czech singer. Jan Kaplický, another famous Czech architect, was Jiřičná's life partner for 10 years. She is also a vegetarian.