CGD

In early October 2024, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague presented an installation called young earth, which was produced in collaboration between the JanskyDundera studio and the creative and educational interdisciplinary platform called kolemhlíny. The exhibition offered a fresh look at young professionals using compacted clay in construction and contemporary design. The around table became the heart of the installation and was made from the clay mix of earth excavated as part of the Prague metro D-line construction. It presented a sustainable approach to design and architecture, and showed a new-found appreciation for the traditional material and this thousand-year technology, which it presented as a functional design in a very contemporary and attractive style. In their collaboration with the kolemhlíny platform (which, apart from Janský, also includes architect Svetlana Devyatkina and engineer Lukáš Bejček), the acclaimed designers again prove that if there is something new and interesting on the Czech design scene, JanskyDundera are usually somehow involved.

The around table is made of a mix of recycled waste materials – stone, soil, clay and water, but does not contain any cement whatsoever. The table can also serve as a segment of a sanded clay floor, but it would be a shame if that was all it was used for. Its material comes from the D-line metro excavations, and the table’s leg clearly shows how a wall of compacted soil might look. The installation also included a prototype for a low table using the soil from a storage landfill. And the soil aggregate used in the tables consists of ground cuttings, which are also waste material.

The motif of soil as a material with immense potential is fairly popular abroad, but in Czechia it remains rather rare. The processing of local materials by means of compacting allows the production of a uniquely aesthetic object with a highly tactile texture and a small carbon footprint. The aim of similar exhibitions is to present soil as an attractive, ecological and modern material. The JanskyDundera studio aimed to create an object which can be used practically, one which people could relate to and also show the potential of using soil at larger scales.

The piece is not just about the importance of sustainability and the potential use of the natural qualities of clay, which can be compacted without using any additives and never has a definite shape and is open to constant remodeling; and its quality also does not decrease with recycling, which is a unique quality for any building material. The around table managed to also show this material’s immense aesthetic potential. The tabletop, made of a thin layer of compacted, sanded soil, offers an intense experience which is hard to describe. A closer look at the surface allows one to read into it, and touching the slightly wavy surface is very pleasant. Its architectural uses show similar material qualities: for example, the floor of compacted earth which Matěj Janský recently made for the wooden chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows in Nesvačilka based on the design by the Prague-based architectural studio RCNKSK proves its highly functional, emotional qualities and its potential for use in sacral spaces.

The JanskyDundera studio has been acclaimed with many awards, for example the German Design Award, the Balthazar Award or EDIDA, and it has again proven that it is one of the best brands in the field. They are nominated for the Designer of the Year Award along with the kolemhlíny platform for the around table and the presentation young earth exhibited at Designblok 2024. JanskyDundera have proven that their work remains focused and consistent and that it is sensitive to contemporary trends and developments. It is not isolated or self-involved, but rather remains open. These are the ingredients which can grow into exceptional works and creative personalities. The around table is not just a prototype; it is an exceptional piece of furniture and a work of art, a manifesto as much as an unusual dining table. Its round shape is not only a nod to the kolemhlíny platform, but sitting around it is an almost ritual experience. The around table shows the valuable discovery of compacted earth in the form of a tabletop.

Michaela Kádnerová