When the participants of the 107th Tour de France reach the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris on 20 September, the winners of the individual classifications will also be announced. This year, for the tenth consecutive year, the ŠKODA Design was responsible for creating the winners’ trophies crafted by the Czech company LASVIT.
This is the Enyaq, the first electric SUV from ŠKODA. We as designers enjoyed the freedom that the MEB platform brings. Brilliant proportions and great interior space due to the flat floor are every car designer’s dream. I am very proud that I was able to lead the team responsible for the Interior design and enjoyed every part of the creative process.
What about two spoke steering wheel? Great achievement from the past inspired us for the future. Check out the new steering wheel in the Octavia. Sometimes we have to rediscover the way how we use things around us in order to redesign them. The whole interior of the new Octavia is based on minimalistic shapes with maximal focus on the functionality. That’s what we call Simply Clever.
Škoda Yeti was one of the first cars I was working on when I joined Škoda Design. Kodiaq is maybe one I am most proud of and as well the car I am driving at the moment. Here they came together in order to shoot the story for 10 years anniversary of Esprit magazine.
The elegant silhouette of the trophies, which are produced by the Czech company Lasvit, has since become a hallmark of the Tour de France. Every year, we are inspired by new impressions for the surface design. This year, the 60-centimetre four-kilogram masterpieces of Czech glass art pay tribute to a traditional glass-grinding technique called ‘Spitzstein’. Mastering this technique requires years of dedication. The trophies for this year’s winners of the Tour de France have been produced by a 75-year-old glass cutter, who has perfected the technique over the course of his decades-long career. Production of each trophy took three days.
In 2019 the Ice Hockey World Championship took place in Slovakia, my hometown Bratislava and Košice. I was honoured to be asked to design the trophy for the Most valuable player of tournament. The trophy is symbolically a big glass crystal stone that takes the inspiration from the crystallisation of the ice coming from the hockey field. Precisely shaped and cut by the best glasscutters from Czech. Mark Stone was named tournament most valuable player after his string of clutch goals helped Canada to the World Championship final in Bratislava. I am happy to be the part of this story an seeing him live lifting up my trophy.
In 2019 in Geneva Škoda Auto introduced our design study Vision iV. Here the picture of Škoda interior dream team at the stand after the successful world premiere. The Škoda Vision iV’s interior is a role model for future electric cars from the Czech car manufacturer. There is more to expect!
The trophies for the winners of the Tour de France provide a fascinating interplay between soft curves and precise lines, which widen towards the top. They are thereby reminiscent of a bird’s wings mid-flight. The 60-centimetre-tall and four-kilogramme masterpieces of Czech glass art are manufactured by the Czech company Lasvit and the trophies’ elegant silhouettes are now considered to be a trademark of the Tour de France. Each year we draw on inspiration from new influences when creating the surface of the awards. This year the trophy pays homage to the geometric designs and angular shapes of Czech cubism.
This are the first visuals of the new organ for St. Vitus Cathedral. In this minimalistic interpretation of the prospect pipes I let myself inspire from Panská skála in Crystal valley near Kamenický Šenov. We are just on the beginning of this great story, but meeting so many supportive people on the way, I believe that it will be succesful.
“We didn’t want to make a pseudo-historic instrument. We wanted to create an impression that the composition is floating in the air. We regard it as a jewel to crown the cathedral, as a necklace hanging below the rose window.” I had a great talk not only about the long expected project, but as well about design, architecture and art. Everything started more than 15 years ago when we visited the Květná Glassworks for the first time. Since then we keep returning not only there, but as well to many other Czech glassworks like Preciosa or Lasvit. Now we can master the experiences in the project of the century, the new organ for St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.