A world-renowned Czech architect who spent most of his life in the United Kingdom. He was the leading force behind the innovative architectural studio Future Systems. He studied architecture and design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (VŠUP) in Prague. After the Soviet invasion, he left for London in September 1968, where he worked for Denys Lasdun and Partners (until 1971) and then, among others, for the studio of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers (until 1973).

In 1979, Jan Kaplický, together with David Nixon, founded his own architectural studio Future Systems and began to develop his own style, which was a combination of organic forms with high-tech futurism.

In 1994, Future Systems was commissioned to build the media center at Lord’s Cricket Ground. This building won the most prestigious award for architects in the United Kingdom in 1999, the Stirling Prize, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and also received the World Architecture Award in 2001. Another iconic project of the Future Systems studio was the Selfridges department store in Birmingham, which won seven awards, including the RIBA Award for Architecture 2004. In 2007, Kaplický’s design won the international architectural competition for the construction of a new national library in Prague. The project was subsequently cancelled.