Martin Rajniš (born 16 May 1944) is a Czech architect, urbanist and professor. His architecture design career spans over fifty years and he taught at

Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague The Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (AAAD, , abbreviated VŠUP, also known as UMPRUM) is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. The university offers the study disciplines of painting, illustration and graphics, ...

from 1990 a 1997 and later at the

Technical University of Liberec The Technical University of Liberec () is a university in the city of Liberec, Czech Republic. The university has undergone great transformation in its over sixty-year history. When it was founded, it was called the Institute of Mechanical Engin ...

. He designed

high-tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...

buildings in the 1980s and 1990s, and since 2000, he shifted the materiality and aesthetics of his designs from steel and concrete to "naturalistic" wood, stone and glass, resulting in a number of experimental and organically shaped structures. Rajniš is critical of engineered communist-era architecture, especially concrete

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...

s. In 2014 he received the

Global Award for Sustainable Architecture The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture is an international architecture founded in 2006 by architect and scholar Jana Revedin. Description Each year, the award honors five architects who "contribute to a more equitable and sustainable d ...

and has multiple nominations for the

Before 1989

Martin Rajniš was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

on 16 May 1944, under the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

. He studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague in 1962–1969. In periods during his studies, he worked as a laborer: in West Germany in 1965 on the renovation of the Cologne Cathedral, and in 1968 in the Netherlands, where he participated in local protests against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He subsequently returned to Czechoslovakia and completed his studies at the Czech Technical University in 1969. He followed with a two-year postgraduate degree at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Prague The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (; AVU) is an art college in Prague, Czech Republic. Founded in 1799, it is the oldest art college in the country. The school offers twelve master's degree programs and one doctoral program. History Starting ...

(under the guidance of Prof. Cubra). From 1969, he was employed during the following ten years in the progressive SIAL studio in

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, led by architects

Karel Hubáček Karel Hubáček (; 23 February 1924 – 25 November 2011) was a Czech architect who designed the Ještěd Tower and hotel atop the Ještěd mountain near Liberec. Hubáček's best known work was the Ještěd Tower, which was constructed betwe ...

and Miroslav Masák. At SIAL, alongside John Eisler and Masák, he designed the winning competition proposal of the Máj shopping center. It was built by 1975 and it became the second department store in Prague after Kotva, as part of the Prior retail chain. Between 1979 and 1986, Rajniš collaborated through Studio Shape founded by Jaromír Hník on designs and management of exhibitions for largely foreign clients. This was mediated by a state-owned enterprise dedicated to exporting works of Czech artists - the Art Centrum. Via this arrangement, Rajniš designed the History of Transport pavilion at the World Exhibition EXPO 1986 in Vancouver together with Hník, Petr Hořejš and Jiří Černý. In 1986, Rajniš co-founded D.A. Studio with colleagues Markéta Cajthamlová, Lev Lauermann, who were subsequently joined by Stanislav Fiala, Jaroslav Zima, Tomáš Prouza and Jan Mleziva. The D.A. studio designed projects until 1996, among which is the

Nový Smíchov Nový Smíchov is a shopping mall located west of the centre of Prague in the Czech Republic. It opened in 2001. The mall has a retail area of . It is one of the biggest shopping centres in the Czech Republic. History The centre was developed by ...

shopping center in Prague district of Smíchov. It opened in 2001 on the site of the former Ringhoffer factory. Rajniš also participated in the redesigning of the urban plan of the Anděl area within Smíchov district.

Since 1990

Between 1990 and 1997, Rajniš taught at the

with his assistant Jakub Cigler and later also taught at the

. In 1993, he was appointed a professor, and between 1992 and 1995 he was a member of the jury of the Czech Chamber of Architects. In 1996, Rajniš departed from the D.A. Studio (which was later renamed to D3A) and went on to travel extensively over the next four years. By 2000 he had travelled throughout four continents, partially via

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

as the mode transportation. He gradually returned to architectural design after 2000. Between 2003 and 2005 he worked alongside Patrik Hoffman and since 2005 he works alongside David Kubík. In 2007, the Post Office on Sněžka project was completed. In 2010, the Czech exhibition from 29 August to 21 November at the 12th International

Venice Biennale of Architecture The Venice Biennale of Architecture ( Italian: ''Mostra di Architettura di Venezia'') is an international exhibition showcasing architectural works from around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. Originally held in even-numbered ...

was designed by Rajniš. In 2012, Martin Rajniš co-founded the atelier named Huť architektury Martin Rajniš based in Prague with Kubík and later also Tomáš Kosnar as a partner. Since 2012, he has led practical student workshops focused on sculptural wooden structures. In 2014, Rajniš was elected chairman of the Prague Institute of Planning and Development. In 2021, the authorities of Prague awarded Rajniš with the honorary medal of the capital city for significant lifetime achievements in the field of architecture.

Architectural style and theory

Early works of Rajniš dated from the 1980s and 1990s have an international modernist or functionalist aesthetic of high-tech style inspired by neo-functionalism and

brutalism Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

. In the period following 2000, Rajniš shifted the materiality and aesthetics of his designs from steel and concrete to "naturalistic" wood, stone and glass, resulting in experimental and organically shaped structures. Rajniš has criticized engineered communist-era architecture, especially concrete

s. Rajniš published a manifest of architecture where he explores topics such as diversity, symbiosis, adaptability, economy and ecology. His theory on urban planning is based on pedestrian's and city-dweller's everyday experience of the city, human scale that enables communication and social interaction rather than planning that is subordinated to economic productivity and spatial efficiency.

Notable projects

File:Obchodní-dům-My-Prague2011.jpg, Máj shopping mall File:Chrudim-rozhledna-Bára2014.jpg, Bára lookout tower File:Maják Járy Cimrmana (01).jpg, Cimrman's lookout tower File:Kyje, Artefakt (04).jpg, Artefakt sculptural structure File:Rajniš Dóm chaosu (9776).jpg, Dome of Chaos sculptural structure File:Vzducholoď Gulliver (2017), foto Jindřich Nosek.jpg, Gulliver "airship" auditorium at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art File:Martin Rajniš's observation tower in the courtyard of the Hansen House in Jerusalem - E.jpg, Ester lookout tower,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Awards

* Nominated for the

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona,European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona,Global Award for Sustainable Architecture The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture is an international architecture founded in 2006 by architect and scholar Jana Revedin. Description Each year, the award honors five architects who "contribute to a more equitable and sustainable d ...

in 2014 * Nominated for the

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona,European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona,1944 births Living people Architects from Prague Czech architects Academic staff of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague Academic staff of the Technical University of Liberec