Irena Skoda at the age of 10, living in a 5-story walk-up, 2 bedroom apartment with my family.
Drawing on a 24″ x 18″ blackboard, I questioned the building I lived in and reimagined how it could be different. Seeing the elements I did not wish to live with…a 5 story building without an elevator, electric fuses blowing when 3 appliances were being used, radiators rattling, excessive heat and cold with unpredictable schedules, blazing heat under a roof and smells of paint during renovations all are probably common even today, unfortunately.
As a Design Architect, 25+ years working on apartments, single and multi-family buildings, up to 90-story high-rise towers, I created the culture of our design studio to be focused on the total design process and outcome. In order to give more people an easy way to envision and create architecture that supports the end-user live-work play experience now and which cradles the possibility that could be.
Irena Škoda is a Design Architect, Interior Designer, Principal and Founder of Škoda Design + Architecture, PLLC based in Long Island City, Queens, NY. Together with her husband, Mladen Škoda, her partner and the co-founder of Škoda Painting, a local professional high-end finishing painting contrator, she works with private clients, corporations, and small to mid-sized Real Estate Development Companies. Irena Škoda is co-founder of The Designers and Builders Alliance of Long Island, an organization of home-trade professionals that support worthy local charities.