The Architect of the Year 2020 award was won by Zdeněk Fránek

Prague – The well-known Czech architect and educator Zdeněk Fránek received the Architect of the Year 2020 award today. This award is given for extraordinary contributions to architecture in the last five years. The jury selected him from five finalists; he has been repeatedly nominated for the award as a representative of the organic movement in Czech architecture. The Architect of the Year award is presented by the company ABF, the organizer of the For Arch construction fair. It also aims to emphasize the close professional connection between the builder and the architect.

According to the jury, Fránek's work draws from architectural, artistic, and natural sources, transforming them into an original, highly personal form. "He is one of the most prominent representatives of the organic movement in Czech architecture. His buildings are characterized by sculptural qualities; moreover, especially in the last decade, they reflect his interest in ecology. They sensitively integrate into the given environment, becoming an enriching phenomenon," stated the jury. The panel included architects Petr Hájek, Adam Gebrian, Marcela Steinbachová, artist Kateřina Šedá, and last year's competition winner, architect Stanislav Fiala.

In addition to designing family homes, museums, sacred, and industrial buildings, Zdeněk Fránek is engaged in teaching, solo exhibitions, and promoting Czech architecture both at home and abroad. His work has been diverse, intense, and above all, inspiring for 30 years, according to the jurors.

Among Fránek's most notable buildings are the castle in Velké Opatovice (2007), the church of the Brethren Church in Litomyšl (2010), the church of the Brethren Church in Prague (2010), the Energy Central No. 6 Ostrava-Vítkovice (2012), CCC- Czech China Contemporary Gallery Beijing (2013), a family house in Croatia (2014), and the Liko-Noe Research Center and Liko-Vo Hall in Slavkov near Brno (2015-2019). The public may also recognize his name as the author of the yet-to-be-realized house in the Old Town of Prague nicknamed the marshmallow.