Ark-shelter

Architects Martin Mikovčák (*1992 in Čadca, completion of studies in 2017 at FA STU, in 2019 at VŠVU) and Michiel De Backer (*1991 in Bruges) began their cooperation at the KU Leuven´s Faculty of Architecture in Ghent. In 2015, they jointly established an atelier and a workshop for modular buildings called Ark-shelter and built their first prototype. "The construction of models has grown to a scale of 1:1, which allows us to be in control up to the final handover of the project." Since then, Ark-shelter has realized around 300 different modules scattered all over Europe. They have also been awarded with: Student Entrepreneur of the year 2016 UNIZO Belgium, Birdhouse scale up competition 2017, CE ZA AR 2019, RED DOT design award 2020, BIG SEE architecture award 2022, and others together with Viktor Mikovčák (*1997 in Čadca, completion of studies in 2021 at FA STU), who has been continuously involved in the cooperation. Currently, Viktor alternatively figures in both Ark-shelter and in his atelier Archekta, with its very own tradition that stretches back to 1991, when founded by Stanislav Mikovčák (his father). Nowadays, all three of them, Martin, Michiel, and Viktor, together with their team design and implement with the Ark-shelter modular system different buildings for various uses, from recreational shelters in forests and floating restaurants to administrative or community centers composed of several modules. What they try to present is the modular architecture in the position of a tool capable of respecting both the genius loci of the place and the essence of the biological-sensory experience of the space by the users.