Michal Krištof’s Chybík + Krištof studio to design UK’s largest sports hall as it expands globally

How Chybík+Krištof landed Britain’s largest indoor sports venue

Michal Krištof first appeared in Forbes 30 Under 30 when his studio, co-founded with Ondřej Chybík, was barely assembling its first portfolio. Fifteen years later, the firm has transformed from a promising Central European start-up into a multi-continent practice. It now runs offices in Brno, Prague, Bratislava and London, and has secured the commission to design the largest indoor sports venue in Britain.

The journey was hardly smooth. The studio navigated the global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, an energy crisis, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the closure of the Chinese market, and the cancellation of several critical projects in the Middle East. Despite this instability, Chybík+Krištof not only survived but expanded, winning the prestigious Design Vanguard award from New York’s architectural circles—the first Czechs and Slovaks to do so—and publishing a retrospective monograph, Crafting Character, with Dutch publisher FRAME.

Krištof credits a disciplined creative process: sketching midnight ideas immediately so they are captured before morning. That small habit reflects a broader structural resilience. The London studio, opened alongside the book launch, marks a deliberate entry into Western European markets and underpins the firm’s ability to bid for – and win – major projects such as the UK sports hall.

Behind the firm’s international expansion strategy

Building a global footprint from Brno

The firm’s expansion strategy is anchored in its home base while physically moving into target markets. Opening a London office was not a symbolic gesture; it directly supported the pursuit of large UK commissions. By combining a local legal entity with a globally recognisable design portfolio, Chybík+Krištof sidesteps the typical disadvantage of a distant, lesser-known studio. The simultaneous release of a monograph with an internationally respected publishing house reinforced its brand credibility at the moment of market entry.

Navigating crisis as a competitive moat

Repeated external shocks have forced the firm to develop operating models that are unusually crisis-proof. When Middle Eastern projects were scrapped, the studio was already diversifying geographically—adding London and pursuing work in the UK. This deliberate hedging meant that the loss of one regional pipeline did not cripple the entire business. The pattern suggests that the firm’s leadership treats geopolitical risk as a permanent feature, not a temporary disruption, and builds redundancy into its project pipeline.

The UK sports hall as a seal of international credibility

Designing Britain’s largest indoor sports venue is a watershed moment. The project moves Chybík+Krištof into direct competition with established British and global architecture giants. Winning the contract signals that the studio’s design language and project management capabilities are now perceived as world-class. For a firm that a decade ago was unknown outside Central Europe, this single commission can unlock a cascade of further work in the UK and beyond, particularly if delivered on time and to budget.

Lessons for architecture firms eyeing global growth

• Open a local office in your target market to win landmark projects. Chybík+Krištof’s London launch directly coincided with the sports hall commission, giving clients confidence in local accountability.
• Leverage design awards and publishing as brand multipliers. The Design Vanguard recognition and the FRAME monograph provided third-party validation that differentiated the studio from other new entrants.
• Diversify your geography to cushion against regional crises. When Middle Eastern projects collapsed due to geopolitical instability, the firm’s already-expanding UK and wider European pipeline absorbed the shock.
• Build a financial and operational model that assumes discontinuity. The firm’s ability to survive multiple global shocks suggests it maintains sufficient liquidity and a lean, adaptable structure that can pivot when one market closes.