Jiri Lev (born 1979, , ) is an Australian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

urbanist Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban a ...

, active in the field of residential,

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

and public

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

disaster recovery IT disaster recovery (also, simply disaster recovery (DR)) is the process of maintaining or reestablishing vital infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster, such as a storm or battle. DR employs policies, tools, ...

and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

development. He teaches on sustainable and resilient architecture in lectures, workshops and writing. Lev's work are known for their highly varied, regionally specific architectural style, often inspired in

traditional architecture A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

, prolific use of natural, raw and locally sourced construction materials and avoidance of synthetic treatments, paint and plastic. His

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

designs have been widely published and replicated thousands of times.

Early life

Lev was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(today the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

) into a family of architects and was educated at a grammar school there. He was inspired growing up in a household filled with his parents' architectural drawings, models, natural science collections, books and plants, just before the proliferation of the internet and

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. He first established his multidisciplinary design practice in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 1998. In 2005, he moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. He completed his master's degree in architecture at the University of Newcastle under Richard Leplastrier and

Kerry and Lindsay Clare Kerry Clare and Lindsay Clare are a wife and husband duo who are Australian architects, founders of Clare Design and joint recipients of the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal. Professional career Kerry Clare and Lindsay Clare pract ...

. During studies he founded ArchiCamp, a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

architecture festival focused on invited architectural intervention in disadvantaged or disaster stricken rural communities.

Career

Lev first opened his practice, Atelier Jiri Lev, in 2014, with first commission the Gulgong Holtermann Museum. A volunteer-driven community project, it involved

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse is the reuse of an existing building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built or designed. It is also known as recycling and conversion. The adaptive reuse of buildings can be a viable alternative to new con ...

of two historic buildings, also featured on Australian banknotes, and new multi-purpose pavilions. In response to the 2019-20 Australian bushfires, Lev established

Architects Assist Architects Assist (AA) is a national organisation of Australian architects, other built environment professionals and students providing pro bono disaster recovery and resilience advice to individuals and communities affected by natural disasters, ...

, an initiative of Australian architecture firms providing ''

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

'' assistance to the victims, as "a platform for equitable access to sustainable and resilient architecture." In 2020, the initiative had 600 participating architecture firms. In 2020, Lev's practice revealed plans for two model

cohousing Cohousing is an intentional, self-governing, cooperative community where residents live in private homes often clustered around shared space. The term originated in Denmark in the late 1960s. Families live in attached or single-family homes wi ...

ecovillage An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community that aims to become more socially, culturally, economically and/or environmentally sustainable. An ecovillage strives to have the least possible negative impact on the natural environment ...

developments in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, addressing the concurrent housing and environmental crises. Inspired by traditional European settlements, a network of small, compact urban forms was proposed, surrounded by shared agricultural land and managed wilderness. A prototype residence was completed in 2021. After the

2021 South Moravia tornado In the evening hours of June 24, 2021, a rare, violent, and deadly long-tracked tornado struck several villages in the Hodonín District, Hodonín and Břeclav District, Břeclav districts of the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, kil ...

in the

, Lev founded Architekti Pro Bono, an initiative of Czech architects assisting the victims.

Practice

Lev advocates for localised, regionally specific architectural style. In his work he references and interprets vernacular architecture. He claims that globalised design trends are highly destructive to the identity and spirit of places where they are introduced. He often refers to the principles of new urbanism. Lev's works often use natural, raw and locally sourced construction materials and avoid or minimise the use of chemical treatments, plastics and synthetic paints. His buildings have been called "almost edible" and his approach described as "design for an economy of means, a generosity of ends." Lev's practice has delivered a number of ''pro bono'' and community projects, often as part of organised workshops and student engagement. During the 2010-20s

housing crisis An affordable housing crisis or housing crisis is either a widespread housing shortage in places where people want to live or a financial crisis in the housing market. Housing crises can contribute to homelessness and housing insecurity. They are ...

the firm released a number of free construction plans for sustainable dwellings open source into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. The designs became popular for their extreme economy and traditionally inspired style, and have been copied, adopted or replicated thousands of times in Australia and North America. The firm is known not to publicise client projects or enter awards. Published works include ''Holtermann Museum'' (2015), ''Courtyard House'' (2018), ''Tasmanian House'' (2021), ''Tasmanian Homestead'' (2023).

Politics

In June 2025, Lev announced his intention to run as an independent candidate in the seat of Lyons at the 2025 Tasmanian state election.

References

External links