The Czech Architecture Award goes to the Archeopark Pavlov

Prague - The Czech Architecture Award 2017 was awarded to Radko Květ and Pavel Pijáček for the Pavlov Archaeopark. The historical museum is located directly in the area of the archaeological site at a settlement from the Upper Paleolithic. According to the jury, the project is "impressive for its impeccable execution and the carefully selected and used materials." The winner emerged from six finalists, with a total of 249 works registered for the second year of the competition organized by the Czech Chamber of Architects, half compared to the first year. The awards were presented today in the Holesovice space Jatka 78, and from Tuesday, the winning works will be displayed at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in Prague.

Throughout the year, the organizers of the award stated that a significant share of the competition is private housing, with about a hundred such buildings registered. There are fewer public investment projects compared to last year, and only seven public buildings in the competition were created based on an architectural competition.

The only work among the finalists that emerged from an architectural competition is the Community Center Máj (SLLA Architects), a new center for social care services in the namesake residential area of České Budějovice. Among the best, the jury also included the Cottage by the Lake in Doksy (FAM Architekti) and the Javornice Distillery (ADR), a fruit distillery complex created by renovating a South Bohemian homestead from the late 19th century, which also includes housing for its owner.

The main award goes to the recently completed Pavlov Archaeopark in the Břeclav region. The museum is four meters underground, with light towers, a funnel-shaped entrance, and views of the Pavlov Hills and the Nové Mlýny reservoir extending to the exterior. The building is meant to evoke cave spaces. The creators directly incorporated the findings of mammoth bones into the exhibition. The jury appreciated its overall impact and "the carefully selected and used materials, such as exposed concrete cast into forms made of natural wood underground, and conversely, colored cast concrete with limestone aggregates used in the above-ground part."