Valerie Heyworth won Kaplicky Internship 2021
29/9/2021

"Czech House Taiwan is a project I worked on as part of my diploma project in the studio of Ondřej Císler and Lenka Milerová," says Valerie Heyworth. "We decided to work on this topic, among other things, as a response to the somewhat ambivalent attitude of the Czech Republic towards Taiwan and its relationship with the People's Republic of China. I see Czech-Taiwanese relations as very important and promising. Building a national cultural centre would support this partnership."
Valerie Heyworth proposed a Czech cultural centre and consulate general in Taipei. The design includes a multifunctional ballroom, gallery, Czech pub, co-working space, visa department, consular department, apartments, consul's residence with a representative space and a public garden. The initial intention of the design was to create a public space evoking the Czech Republic. Due to the climatic unsuitability of a classical square, the author was inspired by Prague's hilly landscape and created a public park on the site that would also serve as a shortcut between two streets. In the project she tried to emphasize the contrast between the different parts of the building so that each would have its own specific atmosphere.