Karel Hájek

Karel Hájek graduated from Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague in 1996, where he studied architecture under Professor Emil Hlaváček. He defended his thesis on Urbanism, Architecture and Modern Rail Transportation Systems at the Institute of Building Science, CTU Faculty of Architecture, in 2002. In 2007 CTU published his monograph on railway building architect Josef Danda. Hájek has long taught at CTU, in the both the Faculty of Civil Engineering’s Department of Architecture and Faculty of Transportation’s Institute of Transport Systems. He also pursues the profession at his own architecture studio, kARek.

“As an architect I’ve had the opportunity to take part in a number of studies and projects in the fields of transportation structures and public space design. Because I believe these two areas of architecture are critical for contemporary urban zones, I spend a significant amount of time on them. In my work, my lifelong interest in rail transport has merged with my progressively forming opinion on architectural design into a process that runs from promoting an ideal concept to creating a design in which the operational and layout studies are reflected in the architectural design, implementing and completing the work, and connecting balanced architectural elements and construction as the embodiment of a volumetric and spatial vision.”