REAL TALK WITH JAN JANECEK

Jan Janecek is a man of many talents. Having grown-up through Bayern Munich's football academy, at the age of 19 he was looking at alternative career choices. He left Munich in 2005 to study architecture at London's Metropolitan University. Post-pandemic, Jan took the decision to leave a large English design firm after many years and apply his award-winning approach to architecture and design, by starting his own practise. I caught up with him from his home in SW3, London. 

MF: Tell me about your day to day?
JJ: Well it always starts early enough for me to hop on my Kaiser training bike or follow my Freeletics exercise program, unless working into the night before didn't keep me up too late! ...after that I have a coffee, preferably outside to help set my circadian clock - thank you Dr. Huberman. Then I'm fully ready to go with my team by 9am. 

I like working with others who also follow a regime, as their approach has rigour. It gives me confidence that they'll manage their work load, which allows me to do my work better. I try to practise what I preach of course.

I run an architecture and design practise called Office for Contemporary Design (OCD), focusing on interior architecture. We work particularly in the residential and hospitality fields, with devleppers, hotel groups and private clients when the project is right. Designing somebody's house is very personal - the client becomes an essential part of the design team. Each project we do is different, with nothing formulaic. The chemistry with the client is key to managing the inevitable peaks-&-troughs of the entire process, through to completion. 

MF: What would you like to do more of?
JJ: I think I'd like to do more exercise, being in the mountains, and enjoy more cultural excursions. There's a lot to see in this world and often cultural references inform my approach, beyond just design. 

MF: How important is movement and exercise for you mentally as well as physically?
JJ: If I have the time in the day, I always include exercise. It declutters my mind and allows me to push myself at work every day. If I can't exercise, the big things do not happen. For me exercise is the antagonist to work (the agonist) - it allows me to move mountains. I feel lighter, brighter, sharper, I sleep better, eat better and concentrate for longer. 

MF: How do you deal with hard things?
JJ: I break everything down into small, manageable chunks. The three P's; preparation, preparation, preparation are essential. Sit down, make a plan and follow the structure as best you can. First do the possible, then the doable, and then you might achieve the impossible. 

At the moment we are amidst a large hotel project in Piccadilly and looking at the whole picture can be overwhelming. But instead if I see it in phases, focusing on the doable and the possible in the short-term and building on each success is the only way to get there, together as a team. 

MF: What one thing could you not live without?
JJ: Friends and family - they're the foundation. When you come up against an immovable object, the only thing that sustains my efforts is friends and family - they make the struggle all worthwhile. When I'm riding the crest of the wave - sharing it with friends and family makes the experience significantly richer.


Jan wearing Sight sweathsirt and Uprise shorts (pine green)

MF: What's your favourite time of year?
JJ: I really like the definition of each season and the rhythm they bring. The anticipation, the changes, the excitement, etc

MF: Is there anything you'd like to get off your chest?
JJ: The "Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Niebuhr, the American theologian comes to mind," Act where you have power, yield where you have none, and possess the clarity to know the difference."