Borek Sipek studied furniture design at the School of Applied Arts in Prague from 1964-68 whereafter he moved to Germany. From 1969-74 Sipek studied architecture at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, which was followed by an employment as a research assistant at the Insitute of Industrial Design at the Technische Universität in Hannover. In 1979, Sipek, took a doctorate in architecture from the Technische Hogeschool Delft in the Netherlands, and later became a lecturer in design theory at the University of Essen.
Sipek worked as an architect and designer in Amsterdam for companies such as Alessi, Driade, Leitner, Vitra, Wittmann, and Steltman Galleries. Some of his best known pieces, including the Chaise Longue Sni and the Jansky chair for Driade, where created during this time. In 1986, Sipek founded the company Alterego together with David Palterer, specializing in small glass objects. Three years later he created the Ajeto glassware manufacturer.
Sipek had his first solo exhibition at the Musée des Tissus et Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris 1988. From 1990-98, Sipek was appointed professor of architecture at the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague. During the same time he was chosen by the Czech president Vaclav Havel, as chief architect at Prague Castle (the official residences of the Czech government), for which he designed several interiors, including furniture. In 1994 he designed the Kyoto Opera house.
From 1983 to 2005, Sipek was awarded several major international prizes for his design, including the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds for architecture and applied arts in in the Netherlands 1993. Sipek was a professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna from 1998-05 and a dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Liberec in Czech Rebublic.
Borek Sipek passed away in 2016 at the age of 67.
