Faculty of Architecture Tutors Among the Winners of the Czech Architecture Award. Šárka Sodomková Wins the Alena Šrámková Award

"I am very happy about the success of our educators. It is a significant recognition for our school and confirmation of how important it is that excellent architects teach at the CTU Faculty of Architecture and can pass on their practical experience to students. It is also wonderful that the newly established award is named after our faculty's emeritus professor and long-time studio head, Alena Šrámková, whose work and personality are an inspiration for our female students, who make up 63 percent of the faculty's student body," says Dean Dalibor Hlaváček.

The Czech Architecture Award is a nationwide competition show of architecture, urbanism, and landscape architecture. The goal is to present high-quality realizations created in the Czech Republic over the last five years. This year, 271 works were submitted. The international jury, consisting of Roger Riewe (Germany/Austria), Boris Bežan (Slovenia/Spain), Andrea Klimko (Slovakia/UK), Yael Moria Klain (Israel), and Jeroen van Schooten (Netherlands), selected 25 nominated realizations and six finalists.

A new feature of this year's edition is the Alena Šrámková Award, named after the prominent Czech architect and emeritus professor of FA CTU, whose goal is to highlight the work of women in the field. The first-ever awarded work was the reconstruction of a former train warehouse in Řevnice – the Sklad_13 Community Center by Šárka Sodomková (Sodomka*Sodomková Architekti). The symbolic significance of the choice was underlined by the fact that Daria Balejová, the municipal architect of Řevnice and initiator of the project, stood on the investor's side; both architects lead first-year studios at the FA. The jury appreciated the exceptionally sensitive approach to the original 19th-century structure, the consistent distinction between old and new, and the transformation of the neglected building into a lively cultural and community center. The project also made it into the final six.

Among the finalists was also Vila Sidonius by FA tutors Ján Stempel and Jan Jakub Tesař (Stempel Tesař architekti), a new building situated on a steep slope above the Berounka valley. The jury was particularly impressed by the bold concept of the "bridge" house, supported by a pair of reinforced concrete pillars, the precise steel structure, and the technical and architectural purity of the design. "Despite its distinct form, the building harmoniously blends into the landscape and continues the tradition of modern villas," the jury adds in its evaluation.

Special awards also went to FA tutors. The Ministry for Regional Development Award for promoting quality construction through architectural competitions was won by the "Forecourt of the Forest Cemetery in Srbsko" project by MED ARKITEKT studio. Jakub Med works at the Institute of Landscape Architecture. The Ministry praised the cultivated solution of public space in a protected landscape area and the municipality's thoughtful and unified approach to the development of its territory.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade Award for exemplary brownfield revitalization was won by the conversion of the former Ferona factory complex in Prague-Holešovice by Boris Redčenkov from the A69 – architekti studio. The jury highlighted the sensitive use of industrial heritage, the work with the original structure, and the natural integration of the new residential block into the urban structure.

The VELUX Company Award for work with daylight was received by the Parukářka Forest Kindergarten in Prague, co-authored by Zuzana Štemberová, head of the Institute of Landscape Architecture, for the Terra Florida studio. The jury particularly appreciated the healthy indoor environment based on natural ventilation, the generous use of light, and the sensitive placement on the park's slope.

The complete results are available on the Czech Architecture Award website.