The Young Architect Award 2014 prizes awarded

This year's edition of the competition for students and architects under 33 years old has its winners. From the submitted 54 conceptual studies on the theme “Painful Spots of Cities and Towns – Abandoned Industry”, the jury selected 10 finalists who significantly addressed real architectural problems in urban areas. Awarded were, for example, proposals for transforming the former Libeň Brewery into a residential complex, the conversion of a former power plant in Prague – Holešovice, and a proposal for utilizing a defunct coking plant in the Vítkovice Ironworks for a scientific and technical library. The competition was announced as part of the accompanying program of the 25th International Building Fair FOR ARCH in the presence of the competition's patron, Bořek Šípek.

Authors of the awarded works

“The theme of this year's 6th edition of the competition “Painful Spots of Cities and Towns - Abandoned Industry” was predominantly accompanied by student projects from our country and Slovakia. The selection of locations and the scope of the project was broad - from proposals for small renovations to generous modifications of urban plans. Among the proposals, there were also many high-quality projects for converting individual former production buildings, including one successful implementation,” says Tomáš Šenberger, chairman of the expert jury (Faculty of Civil Engineering CTU in Prague). “In selecting the nominated works, the jury decided to stay as close to the theme as possible and chose projects that identified and named deprived (“painful”) locations, linking efforts to rejuvenate them with proposals for new uses of existing buildings. The absolute scope of the work was not decisive for the jury, so in the end, they awarded proposals from all levels. In one case - the proposal for converting the production buildings of OP Prostějov - the nomination was also influenced by the barbaric demolition of the Prostějov factory this summer. A number of high-quality proposals from emerging architects give hope for the future that the young generation will treat cultural heritage, including industrial sites, better than we have,” adds Šenberger.

The young were interested not only in Prague, Brno, or Ostrava, but also in small towns
The highest award went to the project for transforming the former Libeň Brewery in Prague into a City House for Libeň. The author transforms the area into a residential complex with amenities and public space on the ground floor, utilizing existing historical buildings. The jury appreciated the author's empathy for the romantic atmosphere of the site, influenced by its industrial history. The conversion of the now-defunct coking plant in the Vítkovice Ironworks in Ostrava into a scientific and technical library was addressed by the author of the second prize. Another awarded work was an interesting and well-thought-out conceptual urban-architectural work that outlines the possibility for the development of the city of Zlín. The work on a Brno-related topic that opens an interesting and previously unresolved issue – the use of urban courtyards – also received high marks. Small towns, which also struggle with urban problems, did not escape the attention of young creators or the jury. For example, a study revitalizing the area of a former brewery in Buštěhrad stood out in the competition, creating a place for enhancing the cultural and social life in the town.
The public will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the competition projects during a traveling exhibition, which began in September at the FOR ARCH fair and will conclude in April 2015.

Ideas can find application
Participants could choose their own problematic location or opt for themes recommended by the National Heritage Institute. The assignments for some projects also originated from self-governing bodies of the participating cities and towns. The connection of real problems and original ideas for their solutions from the young generation of architects can, according to the organizers, help pave the way for addressing these problematic locations. Libor Brož from Beton Brož, which repeatedly supports the competition, positively evaluates the ideas of the architects at the beginning of their careers: “Youth is passionate, innovative, and has not yet been deformed by its environment. They are not afraid to stand for their dreams, fantasies, and goals; they simply go their own way, and that is what resonates with the spirit of our company.”

Overview of awarded works:
1st prize Beton Brož Young Architect Award 2014
CEGRA Prize
Prize from ARCHITEKT magazine
City House for Libeň / Ing. arch. Lukáš Landa

2nd prize Beton Brož Young Architect Award 2014
Rector's Prize TUL for student work
Moravian-Silesian Scientific and Technical Library in Ostrava / Ing. arch. Vojtěch Hybler

3rd prize Young Architect Award 2014
Zlín 2050 / Michal Tichý

Prize from architect Josef Hlávka
Revision of a Courtyard / Jan Kubát

Rector's Prize from CTU for student work
Conversion of a former power plant, Prague – Holešovice / Ondřej Zámečník

Prize from Modern Municipality magazine for contribution to strengthening the community of the residents of the given locality
Revitalization of the area of the former brewery in Buštěhrad / Ing. arch. Jan Müller

Prize from Archiweb for a progressive and innovative approach to solutions
Housing in the former factory complex OP Prostějov / Ing. arch. Zuzana Tomaňová

Public Choice Award (public voting on the competition portal www.yaa.cz)
Transformation of a rural brownfield into a national visitor center of the Nature House Beskyd / Ing. arch. Martin Foldyna

More information, including the rationale for the selection of works by the jury: www.yaa.cz

General partner: Beton Brož
Partners: Platform of Industrial Traces, Foundation “Nadání J., M. a Z. Hlávkových”, FOR ARCH, Center for the Support of Computer Graphics CR, SPYRON, Liberec Regional Gallery
Patronage: ČKA, ČKAIT, SMO ČR, MŠMT, MK, MMR, MŽP, statutory cities: Brno, Ostrava, Liberec
Partner Schools: CTU in Prague, FUA TU in Liberec, FA VUT in Brno, FAST VŠB-TU Ostrava, ZF Mendel University in Brno, VŠUP, ARCHIP, FA STU in Bratislava

Main media partners: Modern Municipality, archiweb.cz
Media partners: ARCHITEKT – publishing house KABINET, ERA21, ASB, Roofs-Facades-Insulations, Builder, EARCH., PROPAMÁTKY.info

The project is realized with the financial support of the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic and the Fund for the Support and Development of Education of the Statutory City of Liberec.