Eva Jiřičná (born 3 March 1939) is a Czech architect and designer, active in London and Prague. She is the founder of the architectural atelier Eva Jiricna Architects, operating in Britain (at first as Jiřičná Kerr Associates) from 1982 to 2017 and a co-founder of AI DESIGN, that she opened in 1999 together with Petr Vágner. She is known for her attention to detail and work of a distinctly modern style, and for her glass staircases. Since 1996 she has been the head of the Department of Architecture at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. In 2007, she was President of the International Commission levying a construction project of the new building of the National Library in Letná, Prague. Biography Childhood and studies Jiřičná was born on 3 March 1939 in Zlín in the Second Czechoslovak Republic, twelve days before it became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under German occupation. She lived in Zlín till the age of four, when her whole family moved to Prague. She studied architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague until 1962 and also at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague – as a pupil of Jaroslav Fragner – where she earned an MA in 1963. After finishing school, she got her first job in state administration at ÚBOK – Ústav bytové a oděvní kultury (Institute of housing and clothing culture). Great Britain In 1968, Jiřičná gained a temporary work placement in London, working as an architect with the Greater London Council on social housing projects. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, her travel permit was annulled by the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Interior, so that she couldn't come back. She decided to stay in the United Kingdom and a year later, she became an associate in the Louis de Soissons Partnership. Here, she spent eight years working on design and construction of the Brighton Marina. In 1976, she became a British citizen. By the end of 1980 she had formed her own practice alongside David Hodges. From here, she began to be recognized for her work in architectural competitions with her business partner. During this time, Jiřičná also shifted from technical architectural projects to interior design assignments, but still incorporated the complexities of her architectural background. Jiřičná continued to gain recognition in the mid-eighties. She met fashion designer and entrepreneur Joseph Ettedgui, designing several of