Faculty of Architecture CTU scooped a lot of prizes at the XXVII Architect Grand Prix

The XXVII edition of the competition organised by the Municipality of Architects na Czech Society of Architects entered 180 buildings carried out in the Czech Republic last year. The winners of nine categories out of a total of 50 finalists were selected by an international jury composed of Fokke Moerel, partner of Dutch studio MVRDV, Christian de Portzamparc, French Pritzker Prize winner, Pekka Salminen, Finnish architecture professor, Tanja Buijs Vitkova, Slovak architect and Dan Merta, director of the Czech architecture Gallery of Jaroslav Fragner.

The main prize was awarded by the jury to the Atelier team bod architekti, which also includes Vojtěch Sosna, a long-time teacher of the Department of Architecural Design I. According to the chairwoman of the jury, Fokke Moerel, the winning project of the Municipal Hall in Modřice is a set of elegant and sober buildings that do not shout into public space, but invite people inside. It serves not only as a sports ground, but also as a community center. "The hall was created with love, attention to detail and the materials used," says the juror about the building.

The award for architectural design and reconstruction was awarded to MC Ateliér, where Pavla Melková, who lectures at the Department of Building Theory and Miroslav Cikán of the Deparment of Architectural Design I work. Together they created the design of the Jan Palach memorial in Všetaty. According to juror Dan Merta, the architects have successfully managed to transform the great pain of modern Czech history into architecture and create an architectural masterpiece that allows viewers to perceive history through architecture. “It was not a monument or a memorial, but a more subtle architecture that points to the sensitive philosophical-architectural approach of this studio,” adds Dan Merta.

Štěpán Valouch, who runs his own studio at the Department of Architectural Design II for the second year, received the award for the reconstruction. Together with Jiří Opočenský, in their ov-a studio, he designed the reconstruction of the LASVIT headquarters for the competition.

Fine award for small buildings

The shelter, footbridge and flagpole, three structures realised by architecture students, received Honorary Mention of the Architects Grand Prix - National Architecture Awards 2020. The projects originated in the studio Hlaváček – Čeněk of the Faculty of Architecture of CTU. 

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 architecture teaching methods is used at the world's leading architectural schools and also at the Department of Architectural Design II of the FA CTU.

Dalibor Hlaváček and Martin Čeněk have long been recognized for their teaching results, most recently they received a Special Award for an innovative pedagogical approach in teaching architecture 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.

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 were encroached into the landscape and enriched it with contemporary architecture. Dan Merta pointed out that by focusing on detail structures the students insert into the Czech landscape a quality that it misses.

Kømen– a shelter by the Balvan 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 refuge protecting tourists from bad weather. The Balvan waterfall in the Giant Mountains, into which a large stone had recently been wedged, inspired its shape. Stone forms the integral part of the fabric of mountains and is the basis of the design concept, as a material that captures life and changes over time. The irregular but compact texture of the shelter creates a sense of security and concealment. The light colour of its interior wood cladding contrasts with its exterior tin sheeting and bad weather.

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.

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.

More information about the awarded projects can be found at the competition website. 

In addition to the National Prize for Architecture, the Czech Prize for Architecture is also awarded annually, which has been organized by the Czech Chamber of Architects since 2016. 192 projects competed for this year, the winner should be announced in November 2020.

Awards for architects who teach at the FA

The grand prize was awarded by the jury to the studio bod architekti where works our long-time teacher of the Department of Architectural Design I Vojtěch Sosna. The winning project of the Municipal Hall in Modřice, according to jury president Fokke Moerel, is a collection of elegant and sober structures that do not shout into the public space but invite people in. It serves not only as a sports venue, but also as a community center. "The hall was created with love, attention to detail and materials used," the juror says of the construction.

The award for architectural design and reconstruction was awarded to MC Ateliér, where Pavla Melková, who lectures at the Department of Building Theory, works, and Miroslav Cikán of the Department of Architectural Design I. Together they created the design of the Jan Palach memorial in Všetatech. According to juror Dan Merta, the architects have successfully managed to transform the great pain of modern Czech history into architecture and create an architectural masterpiece that allows viewers to perceive history through architecture. “It was not a monument, but a more subtle architecture that points to the sensitive philosophical-architectural approach of this studio,” adds Dan Merta.

The award for reconstruction was given to Štěpán Valouch, who runs his own studio for the second year at the Department of Architectural Design II. For the competition he worked with Jiří Opočenský in their studio ov-a project reconstruction of the LASVIT headquarters.

Further details about the awards can be found on the website of the competition. In addition to the National Architecture Prize, the Czech Architecture Prize is awarded annually, which from 2016 is organised by the Czech Chamber of Architects. 192 projects competed for the Czech Architecture Prize this year, with the winner expected to be announced in November 2020.