(“Text as submitted by Architect”)
Viktor Odstrčilík
Viktor’s interest lies in the craft of feasibility of a project, which is crucial to the process. Viktor leads the delivery of our projects, proving we can bring conceptual thought and technical ability together to the construction. Viktor is interested in the City’s political development and how we, as Architects, can make a change.
Alexandra Georgescu
Co-Founder of KOGAA, Alexandra has ten years of experience in the architecture and design field, from international schools and architecture studios. Alexandra holds a Masters’s Degree in Interior Architecture at the prestigious Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and studies in Italy, the UK, and Denmark. She then worked in Beijing at CLOU architects and in Milan at Studio Brioschi before opening her practice in the Czech Republic.
With a keen interest in design and event management, Alexandra is the founder and organizer of the design festival Brno Design Days, taking place yearly and acts as the City’s main design event. Including a rich program of workshops, lectures, exhibitions, city installations, a design cinema, and a cafe, Brno design days bring various design fields and local and international names to the spotlight.
In 2020 Alexandra lectured at RIBA, the Royal Institute of British Architects, on alternative approaches to development. In 2020 her practice was selected by Dezeen Awards among the top twenty architecture practices in the world.
Alexandra is currently a jury member for the Dutch Creative Heroes Award for the Czech Republic edition and is on the jury for other Architecture and Urbanism International competitions.
Tomas Kozelsky
Tomas is the design director at KOGAA and is a big-picture thinker and visionary by nature. He oversees the design solutions for each project, ensuring they follow our visions and the client’s needs and bring enrichment into the world of architecture. He has a wide-angle and in-depth view of every work element. He sees future potential or problems that might not be immediately obvious. He’s also a great communicator – both in person and on paper, giving lectures and publishing papers for the local Faculty of Architecture. Tomas’s interest and knowledge in the re-use of Industrial facilities led some of our projects towards the Adaptive Re-Use in Architecture, such as The Distillery – Social Reactor, KUMST project, FUTURUM and DADA Distrikt. This specialization is developed further by pursuing a PhD at Brno Faculty of Architecture. He teaches the new generation of young architects.
Practice Ideology
Founded in 2015 by Tomas Kozelsky, Alexandra Georgescu, and Viktor Odstrčilík, KOGAA has offices in Prague and Brno, Czech Republic.
KOGAA is a DESIGN VANGUARD 2021 Winner, 2020 Emerging Practice longlisted by DEZEEN AWARDS, and a 2019 RIBA lecturer on alternative approaches to development. The same year KOGAA won the main prize for workspace design at the BIG SEE awards for their Distillery project. In 2018 they were chosen as the top ten emerging architecture practices by Archipreneur magazine.
KOGAA creates substance for the built environment, committing to projects with a positive impact on users, communities, and the local context. Through their projects, the practice tackles the issue of inactive structures and their adaptation into substitute functions. The Distillery, KUMST, and DADA Distrikt projects are representative examples of how vacant properties can become vibrant locations, playing an active role in the urban and economic transformation of the surrounding neighbourhood and life of the City.
Based on a solid belief that the more the architect is involved in the whole process, the more efficient, coherent, and sustainable the building is. KOGAA takes pride in leading projects throughout the entire process, from the strategy and business plan, concept and feasibility studies, technical documentation and getting the permissions, construction administration, and the strategy to generate attraction.
