Jiri Lev

Jiri Lev (born 1979,, Jiří Lev) is a Czech-Australian architect and urbanist, active in the field of sustainable residential, sacred and public architecture, disaster recovery and humanitarian development.

Lev's work is known for its highly varied, regionally specific, contextual architectural style, often but not always inspired in traditional architecture, and prolific use of natural, raw and locally sourced construction materials, such as timber, stone, hempcrete, canite or clay and lime products. He teaches on sustainable and resilient architecture in lectures, workshops and writing.

Early life
Lev was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia (today Czech Republic) and educated at grammar school there. As a child he was inspired by growing up in an environment filled with his parents' architectural drawings, models, natural science collections, books and plants, just before the proliferation of internet and social media.

He first established his multidisciplinary design practice in Prague in 1998. In 2005, he moved to Sydney, Australia, where he studied architecture at the University of Newcastle under Richard Leplastrier and Kerry and Lindsay Clare. During studies he founded ArchiCamp, a grassroots 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 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,  an initiative of Australian architecture firms providing pro bono 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 ecovillage developments in Tasmania, 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 Czech Republic, 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 utilise 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 large number of pro bono and community projects, often as part of organised workshops and student engagement. Occasionally the firm releases plans for sustainable dwellings as open source into the public domain.

The firm is known not to officially publish clients' projects or enter awards. Limited published works include Holtermann Museum (2015), Courtyard House (2018), Tasmanian House (2021), Tasmanian Homestead (2023).