Archipelago 13 *A3

The Studio of Architecture III focuses on testing new design methods and architectural strategies in its projects. It focuses on architectural research, making extensive use of computer-aided design and the latest technologies, while emphasizing human needs, and environmental issues. 

The exhibition at the UM Gallery can be divided into four areas that the studio has been working on since 2011: new nature, materiality, robotic production, and data space. The archipelago consists of a representative collection of successful projects and their authors without authoritative hierarchy, typological categorization, and incorporation into a timeline.  Nearly three dozen architectural models created by students, Ph.D. students, as well as former and current teachers of the studio - Imrich Vaško, and assistants Shota Tsikoliya and Martin Gsandtner - are presented to the public. The thematic groups - islands - represent remarkable and often award-winning projects, which have been acclaimed at domestic as well as international exhibitions at Milano Design Week, Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria, Kunsthalle in Bratislava, and the Czech Cultural Centre and Brot-Fabrick in Vienna. On display are not only models but also real outcomes of research projects, such as the technologically experimental chairs created in collaboration with the Slovak company ITB and ASL.

"It is pleasant to find out how many talented and enthusiastic students and colleagues have worked in the studio, how even over time interesting works have been created in the studio that can be compared and confronted within an international context. I am pleased that most of my colleagues who studied at UMPRUM are making a living in the profession. Many of them have their own studios and some of them were or are part of important architectural studios. I can name Eva Kvaššayová at Foster Partners in Madrid, Martin Gsandtner at Zaha Hadid Architects in London, David Kovařík at Franz&Sue and Feld72 in Vienna, Veronika Miškovičová at Tomáš Saracen and LAVA in Berlin. I am also happy about the pedagogical work of Ph. D. student Jan Pernecký at Bartlett in London and IAAC in Barcelona." as Professor Imrich Vaško the studio's head evaluates the past thirteen years of the studio.

The exhibition features a robotic arm generating text that describes the timeline and details of individual projects on the gallery walls throughout the exhibition, showcasing it as one of the contemporary tools used in studio creation.

"The installation strategy provides food for thought about the nature of how and from what physical exhibits are generated. It is deliberately conceived in such a way that the exhibits have no pedestals but are directly placed on the floor. They emerge from something hidden beneath the surface, something that itself does not necessarily have a similarly solid, stable, physical nature." Cyril Říha, the curator of the exhibition and teacher at UMPRUM, refers to the important role of virtual, and digital processing and the use of artificial intelligence.

The exhibition Archipelago 13 *A3 not only introduces the work of the Studio of Architecture III at UMPRUM but also shows a new, visionary concept and the use of the most contemporary practices. The exhibition will be open until May 25th, 2024. 

The leadership of the studio: Imrich Vaško
Assistant Professor: Shota Tsikoliya (od 2016), Martin Gsandtner (2011-2015).
Exhibitors: students, graduates, and Ph.D. students of the Studio of Architecture III and its teachers Imrich Vaško (ASL), Shota Tsikoliya (Collarch), and Martin Gsandtner.
Exhibition curator: Cyril Říha
Graphic designers: Matúš Buranovský, and Adam Varga.
Exhibition Design: Imrich Vaško, Shota Tsikoliya, and Veronika Miškovičová.