Brno Expats Have Talent: Alexandra (Romania / Italy) - architect

Welcome to another episode from our Brno Expats Have Talent series. Brno is full of talented people, and some of them are not from the CR – we’re introducing one talented expat at a time!

This month, Alexandra describes her work as a successful architect, both in words and pictures, and takes us for a tour of her studio.

Alexandra Georgescu (Romania / Italy) – architect

How long have you been an architect?

I have been practicing architecture for the last 10 years of my life, of which 3 years of work internationally between Italy, Holland and China, and 7 years of running my own architectural studio KOGAA.

How do you find living in Brno as an expat and artist?

I live between Brno and Prague and both cities provide everything I need both for my work and private life. Brno has a very friendly vibe with a slower tempo and easier access to services given the low number of inhabitants.

Is it easy to practise your art here?

I don’t believe it’s easy to run your business anywhere, each country and city you live in you have to face certain challenges. Brno is a growing developing city which provides us with plenty of projects opportunities for the long run.

How different is the audience/clients/market in the CR compared to your home country?

I practiced too little architecture in Italy so I cannot say but from what I see, the CR gives, at least in our field, much more opportunities to younger talents to build their projects, even with little experience. This helps the economy and innovation growth.

Where do you find inspiration? 

The local context in Brno is still far from European standards and has its own strong identity, and that’s an inspiration: to help the city grow in the right direction. It is our mission.

Do you cooperate with other expats or local Czechs in your activity? Even now, in these strange covid times?

At KOGAA we collaborate with both locals and international companies. We have not been touched by the pandemic in any way so far. Business as usual.

Is there any other area in art that you’d like to explore? 

We are growing the scale of projects and therefore responsibilities, we are looking into expanding our company to incorporate a wider range of services to better cover the building industry market. Also, we want to be leaders in the country for adaptive reuse projects, and help investors to maintain buildings while still making a profit.

In your video, you chose to take us for a visit to your office. Why?

My office is one of the most inspirational spaces I know. It is designed to foster creative thinking and collaboration. It’s light, airy, neat, and with large and generous spaces. We have a big table for being all together at breakfasts and lunches. It creates a small community vibe.

Photos courtesy by Alexandra Georgescu