Jan Kaplický
A Czech visionary who fused organic forms with high-tech materials, creating buildings that looked like they'd landed from a future world.
1937–2009 (age 72)·Czech architect·Birthday: April 18·The Silent Generation
Biography
Born in Prague, Jan Kaplický's architectural imagination was forged in the crucible of Czech Cubism and later, the radical ferment of 1960s London, where he settled after the 1968 Soviet invasion. Rejecting the rigid boxes of modernism, he co-founded Future Systems, an office dedicated to a philosophy he called 'neo-futurism.' His work was characterized by sensual, blob-like forms and a seamless integration of advanced engineering, making structures appear as singular, manufactured objects rather than assembled buildings. The 1999 Lord's Media Centre, a gleaming aluminum pod hovering over the cricket ground, announced his genius to a wider public. His most famous work, the 2003 Selfridges Building in Birmingham, is a landmark clad in thousands of shimmering aluminum discs, resembling a colossal, luxurious armadillo. Kaplický's untimely death came just as his visionary design for the Czech National Library, a vibrant, organic form nicknamed the 'Octopus,' was controversially rejected, leaving a legacy of breathtaking, unbuilt dreams.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Jan was born in 1937, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1937
#1 Movie
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Best Picture
The Life of Emile Zola
Jan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1937Born
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1942Started school
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1950Became a teenager
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1953Could drive
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1955Could vote
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1958Turned 21
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1967Turned 30
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1977Turned 40
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 50
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 60
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 70
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2009Died at 72
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
Key Achievements
- Designed the Selfridges Building in Birmingham, a landmark department store covered in 15,000 anodized aluminum discs.
- Created the Media Centre at Lord's Cricket Ground, the first all-aluminum, semi-monocoque building in the world.
- Co-founded the avant-garde architectural studio Future Systems, which pioneered a bio-tech, high-tech design language.
- Won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize in 1999 for the Lord's Media Centre.
Did You Know?
He worked for notable architects like Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers on the early designs for the Centre Pompidou.
His father was a painter and sculptor, and his mother was a botanical illustrator, deeply influencing his organic forms.
Kaplický's winning design for the Czech National Library was chosen in an international competition but never built.
He met his wife, the architect Amanda Levete, while she was working at Future Systems.
“Architecture is not about form, it is about the many processes that form is part of.”
