(“Text as taken from the website”)
Marek Jan Stepan
The member of the Czech Chamber of Architects, number of authorization, member of the Artistic and Liturgical Commission of Ostrava-Opava See. He, as a Moravian architect, is inspired by tradition and modernism. He develops the archetypal concepts of architecture in his projects. Marek focuses on projects of sacred buildings, new buildings, and reconstructions, which he solves comprehensively. He designs civil and residential buildings too, along with pursuing the pedagogical and theoretical activity. “Mentally, I would set myself into the Moravian-Austrian region within Europe. Today postmodern age is crowded by various styles; I turn myself to sort of intimate truth first.”
Practice Ideology
Atelier Štěpán as a design studio branches out into modern architecture while being rooted in traditional sensibility. Founded in 1997 by Vanda and Marek Štěpán, Atelier Štěpán works in the realms of architecture, public space, and art, and develops the archetypal concept of architecture. Their ideas are rooted in Moravian and Austrian sub-context and nuances. Their work is especially known for sacral architecture for which, they have been recognized, celebrated, and encouraged on multiple instances. Among them, the best known are the Church of Beatified Restituta in Brno Lesná (2020) with the magical rainbow dome, the Church of Holy Spirit in Ostrava (2007) with complex geometry based on basic shapes, the Church of Holy Spirit in Šumná (2008) which is a reference to the early Christian buildings, the round shaped Church of St Wenceslas, and the area for the Mass of Pope Benedict XVI in Brno (2009).
Atelier Štěpán works in the fields of civil, residential, and experimental buildings. This year, the Winery Přátelé Pavlova project in Pavlov was completed, and the Conceptual Cloud installation for the Museum of Applied Arts in Brno is nearing completion. The studio was also working on the concept of minimalist residential units Freedomky or the refurbishment of Café Fara in Klentnice. Marek Štěpán was also an external consultant for architecture for the head of the Office of the President of the Republic from 2006-2012. He is currently head of Sacral Space Laboratory and vice-dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology. Atelier Štěpán has won significant awards (for instance The 10 Best Buildings of 2017 – Azure Magazine).
