Igor Kovačević

Bio

Igor Kovačević was born in Brčko – Yugoslavia, today Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1992 he swapped the disintegrating country for the blooming central European region. He received an MA in architecture and urban planning in 2000 from the Faculty of Architecture, CTU in Prague. In the same year, together with Yvette Vašourkova, he established the architectural platform MOBA. In 2001, he further went on to co-found the Centre for Central European Architecture (CCEA). These two formations are linked to theoretical work and research projects. Focusing on urban life and strategies, they support the development of new forms of communication between architects, artists – specialists, and city representatives. Long-term research projects focusing on urban phenomena are the core interest of the CCEA. Developing these projects as initiator or coordinator, the CCEA looks to create a new language in bottom-up policies. In 2010, he finished his Ph.D. Studies on the research – “Yugoslav architects educated in the Czech Republic.”

He taught students at the Faculty of Architecture under Vladimir Šlapeta during his studies. He went on to teach about Urban Spaces at Architectural Institute Prague – ARCHIP and also teaches at the North Carolina State University Institute Prague. His teaching method is based on encouraging experience rather than delivering knowledge.

He has developed and initiated a considerable range of research projects: Yong Blood 2004-08, BIG DEAL 2007, Generation + 2008, TACE – Theatre Architecture in Central Europe, 2009-10, Urbanity – twenty years Later, 2008-2010, Culburb –Cultural Acupuncture Treatment for Suburb, 2011-2013 and Lifting the Curtain – Central European architectural networks – project selected by curator Rem Koolhaas as a collateral event of XIV Venice Biennale.

His interest in urban life architecture and the political aspects of Central Europe’s contemporary and future cities is expressed through various board memberships. He has been seated, for example, on the board of experts of the International Iakov Chernikhov Prize “Challenge of the Time,” the 2010 Moscow, board of experts of the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2012, Independent expert of the Mies van der Rohe Award for 2011-12. Ha has also been a member of the Metropolitan Board – an advisory body to the Mayor of Prague since 2012.

Igor Kovačević’s activities allow him to travel throughout Europe, as he has been invited to lecture in Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Frankfurt, and other cities in the region. He authors texts and publications focused on Central European architectural presence and history. As an architect, he and his team from MOBA studio have developed more than 50 competition proposals, from which they have scooped 12 prizes and seen two proposals realized. As an architect, he and his team from MOBA studio have developed more than 50 competition proposals, from which they have scooped 12 prizes and seen two proposals realized.