DRNH

The Brno DRNH studio was founded in 1991 by the architects Antonín Novák and Petr Valenta. Not only were they born in the same year and place (Brno, 1963), but they also studied together at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Technology in Brno where they subsequently graduated during the late 1980s. Their studio, with the hitherto unexplained name DRNH, operated only in Brno. They made a name for themselves above all with their reconstructions of older buildings – the swimming pool in Kraví Hora in Brno (2004), the Reduta Theatre or the conversion of the engineering works on the Vaňkovka premises into an exhibition hall (both 2005). Their approach to reconstruction projects has its roots in their appreciation of the original building and an understanding of its character, at the same time however, they are not afraid to introduce new elements and structures. The aim is a new unity of the new and the old. The DRNH studio first operated outside of the borders of Brno when they cooperated on the housing development at Na Krutci in Prague (2008) and, two years later, the indoor swimming pool in Litomyšl was built according to their design project. In recent years the studio has concentrated on work in the gardens in Kroměříž.

Contrary to most of their Brno peers, Novák and Valenta did not succumb to the allure of Functionalist architecture. In several of their designs from earlier years the influence of Swiss Minimalism, along with its accent on material quality, is evident. There is a clearly visible attempt to achieve a clear poetry and harmony of design throughout their work. This is a reflection of the designers' interest in art and literature. During the reconstruction of the Reduta Theatre, they cooperated with the painter Petr Kvíčala, whose decorative approach complements the Minimalist, almost cold, new architectonic layer. In recent years, the architecture of the DRNH studio has been regularly expanding beyond the borders of the studio's province – a fact presaged by its virtual reality exhibition of unrealized design projects mě100 and mě101 (2007-2010), and subsequently verified by its projects carried out in Litomyšl and Kroměříž.

The DRNH studio has published three books: Columns on Architecture (Sloupky o architektuře, 2014), House and Landscape 1 (Dům a krajina 1, 2014) and House and Landscape 2 (Dům a krajina 2, 2016). Antonín Novák has also been teaching at the faculties of architecture in Brno and Liberec since 2000, furthermore, in 2012 he gained a professorship at the Czech Technical University in Prague.
 

Architekt/ka
DRNH

Literature
Antonín Novák. Česká architektura 2015–2016 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2015–2016. Praha, 2017.
Antonín Novák, Petr Valenta. Dům a krajina 2. Brno, 2016.
Zdeněk Fránek. Česká architektura 2013–2014 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2013–2014. Praha, 2015. s. 32–35 a 72–73.
Antonín Novák, Petr Valenta. Dům a krajina 1. Brno, 2014.
Antonín Novák, Petr Valenta. Sloupky o architektuře. Brno, 2014.
Petr Volf. Litomyšl. Renesanční město moderní architektury. Litomyšl, 2014. s. 180-183.
Michal Kuzemenský. Česká architektura 2011–2012 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2011–2012. Praha, 2013. s. 140–143.
Rostislav Švácha. Naprej!. Praha, 2012. s. 316–319.
Jan Šépka. Česká architektura 2006–2007 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2006–2007, Praha 2008. Praha, 2008. s. 64–69 a 144–147.
Neuveden. Zelená architektura.cz. Praha, 2008. s. 62–67 a 202–205.
Alexandr Skalický. Česká architektura 2005–2006 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2005–2006. Praha, 2007. s. 112–115 a 116–119.
Ján Stempel. Česká architektura 2004–2005 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2004–2005. Praha, 2006. s. 54–57 a 110–113.
Jan Jehlík. Česká architektura 2003–2004 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2003–2004. Praha, 2005. s. 42–47 a 152–155.
Jaroslav Wertig. Česká architektura 2002–2003 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2002–2003. Praha, 2004. s. 84–87 a 100–103.
Markéta Cajthamlová. Česká architektura 2000–2001 / Czech architecture. Yearbook 2000–2001. Praha, 2002. s. 56–61.

Prameny
www.drnh.cz.