Fine award for small buildings

180 buildings built last year in the Czech Republic were entered in this year's 27th Grand Prix of Architects competition, organized by the Municipality of Architects. The winners of nine categories out of a total of 50 finalists were selected by an international jury. Its members, apart from the aforementioned Fokke Moerel, who chaired the jury, and Christian de Portzamparck, included Finnish architecture professor Pekka Salminen, Slovak architect Tanja Buijs Vitkova and Jaroslav Fragner gallery director Dan Merta.

Kømen - a shelter by the Balvanový waterfall, the footbridge over Hluboká strouha and flagpole with a view were created under the leadership of FA CTU teachers Dalibor Hlaváček and Martin Čeňek. Design-build projects, meaning teaching in the form of "design and build", allow students to invent the construction and implement it with their own hands. This alternative to standard teaching has a tradition at the world's leading architectural schools, at the CTU the Department of Architectural Design II.

Dalibor Hlaváček and Martin Čeněk have long been recognized for their teaching method, most recently they received a special award for an innovative pedagogical approach in teaching architecture in the competition Construction of the Year of the Central Bohemian Region. They summarized their experience of teaching and their own work in the publication Teaching (Sustainable) Architecture, which was published in 2020.

As an alternative to standard teaching, design-build projects allow students to conceive the structure and implement it with their own hands. Hlaváček and Čeněk won a special prize for this innovative approach to the teaching of architecture in the 2019 Central Bohemian Region Construction of the Year competition.

The shelter and footbridge are part of a years-long collaboration with the Giant Mountains National Park Authority, under which students and teachers built a total of five walkways and six emergency shelters in the Giant Mountains. On the flagpole to Libčice nad Vltavou, Hlaváček – Čeněk worked with Skanska Reality a.s.

The Architect Grand Prix jury appreciated how the students' structures encroached on the landscape and enriched it with contemporary architecture. Dan Merta pointed out that students can focus on detail and bring the quality that the Czech landscape needs.

Kømen– a shelter by the Balvanový waterfall

Pedagogical leadership: Dalibor Hlaváček, Martin Čeněk
Authors: Julie Kopecká (Draft author), Anna Blažková, Erik Ebringer, Michael Košař, Michaela Křižáková

Kømen is a simple shelter, a haven for tourists from inclement weather. The inspiration for the shape was a location near the Balvanový waterfall in the Giant Mountains, into which a large stone had recently been wedged. Stone is seen in the concept as an integral part of the fabric of mountains, a foundation that captures life and changes over time. The irregular but compact texture of the shelter creates a sense of security and concealment, the light wood in the interior contrasting with the tin sheeting and bad weather.

Link to Architects Grand Prix Project Gallery - National Architecture Awards 2020

The footbridge over Hluboká strouha

Pedagogical leadership: Dalibor Hlaváček, Martin Čeněk
Authors: Tomáš Minarovič (Draft author), Michal Bílek, Jan Binter, Tereza Chvojková, Ondřej Králík, Matěj Kulhavý, Petra Lávová, Eliška Müllerová, Pavel Struhař

The footbridge is located in the Giant Mountains on the slopes of Stoh, in the place where Hluboká strouha is crossed by a blue tourist trail leading from Špindlerův Mlýn to Klínové Boudy. Its shape is based on the terrain configuration of the trough created by the Hluboká strouha and the movement of visitors. With its curve, it creates a continuation of the current path and promotes the fluidity of walking. There are minimal resting places along the trail. The walkway therefore offers a sitting area with a view thanks to a proposed bench facing the valley.

Link to Architects Grand Prix Project Gallery - National Architecture Awards 2020

The flagpole with a view

Pedagogical leadership: Dalibor Hlaváček, Martin Čeněk
Authors: Kristýna Rejsková (Draft author), Tereza Čechová, Adam Hofman, Filip Hutera, Lenka Lenčéšová, Jana Sedlická, Sylvie Tesková, Kryštof Vicherek, Anna Vopařilová

A flagpole with a view is a minor intervention in the landscape. It is located in Libčice nad Vltavou, the site of the future Na Cihelce park. It is an initiation point, an intervention to elevate the importance of the site, the first construction in the territory to be transformed from a neglected site into a park in the future.

Link to Architects Grand Prix Project Gallery - National Architecture Awards 2020