The Antonín Raymonda Award was won by Ondřej Pecháček

Kladno – In the Kladno architectural competition, the Antonín Raymond Award, this year, student Ondřej Pecháček from the Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT was the winner. This year, it focused on finding possible uses for the former La Park hotel. The city bought it last year and the dilapidated building is to be demolished by the end of this year. The city leadership has not yet decided what will replace it. The jury, led by chairman architect David Vávra, most appreciated the integration of Pecháček's proposed project into the landscape, the city hall spokesman Vít Heral informed ČTK in a press release today.

The landscape around the hotel is distinctive according to the hotel. It is a location on the edge of Kladno, not far from municipal sports facilities and right next to the forest. "We also appreciated the respect for the place where the La Park hotel used to be. Ondřej Pecháček reflected this in his proposal and preserved it," added Kladno councilor and architect Ondřej Rys (Volba pro Kladno). The public can view the designs on the website www.antoninraymond.cz.

Second place in the competition was won by Klára Hrdličková, third by Radovan Marek. "I think the student competitors very well captured the place where La Park is located. They tried to incorporate additional sports facilities or even a café, which are attractive elements for the place itself but also for the residents of Kladno," noted Rys.

This year, Kladno hosted the Antonín Raymond Award for the seventh time. The competition is intended for students of Czech architectural schools. It provides an opportunity to present the architectural visions of the younger generation to the general public, and its goal is to popularize the personality of architect Antonín Raymond. The main prize for the competition winner is a two-week stay in Japan connected with tours of sites and companies associated with the Kladno native.

Kladno is also currently commemorating Raymond with an exhibition at the Cyril Bouda Gallery. It showcases his work and connection to the city. On display are paper models of significant Japanese buildings. The exhibition will be in the gallery until December 29.

Architect Antonín Raymond was born in 1888 in Kladno, studied in Prague, and lived and worked in the USA and Japan. Among his most significant buildings is the Gunma Music Center in Tokyo, which is listed as a symbol of modern Japanese architecture of the 20th century. In 2010, the city council granted Raymond posthumously honorary citizenship of Kladno.