Ješted in the cage 25 - ceremonial announcement

What is JFK?
Jestěd f Kleci is a traditional competition held at the Faculty of Art and Architecture of the Technical University of Liberec. The competition is usually accompanied by a diverse weekly program culminating in the announcement of winners in the categories of architecture and design. Here are the latest updates on how everything unfolded this time.

As the semester is, so is Ještěd
Like all university students, FUA TUL students have completed their second distance semester. Therefore, Ještěd f Kleci took place online for the second time. For this occasion, a virtual studio was created to allow participants to experience the space of Karel Hubáček's studio and view any project (available at jestedfkleci.cz). The projects were evaluated by a jury consisting of Pavla Melková, Hermann Coufal, Alžběta Brůhová, and Adam Štěch.

The week kicked off with a Monday ceremonial video call, during which the JFK organizers talked about the program for the entire week. This was followed by short presentations in the style of Pecha Kucha. Alžběta Brůhová presented the Architects platform, which connects women involved in architecture and serves as a space for discussion. The design duo Hermann Coufal focused on the topic of DIY, not only in their own work. The presentation was concluded by Jan Picko, sharing his experiences as an art educator during the pandemic.
In Liberec, the exhibition #KafePivoVýlohy is still ongoing at this time. This was followed by an outdoor program for Ještěd F Kleci aimed at a small group of students staying in Liberec. Together with graphic designer Jan Měřička, one of the exhibitors, all the exhibition windows were walked through and briefly commented on.
Specifically for the opening and announcement video calls, Darjan Hardi and Studio ZDAAR, the creators of the graphics for this year's edition, designed backgrounds for Google Meet to help us synchronize. A nice detail. Some participants wore the aforementioned merch, which was specifically created for lounging at home. After the announcement, the students gathered again in a small circle for a ceremonial chili con carne.

Different year, different ethics
The 25th Ještěd F Kleci surprised not only with its format but also with its results. The jury decided not to adhere to the usual structure of awarded prizes and created its own ranking.
The main award, the symbolic Ještěd statue in a cage, was taken home by the entire studio, namely the urbanism studio Kolařík –Janoš. The jury agreed to award all participating students from this studio. In their opinion, the projects are characterized by a wide range of work and sophistication from the overall concept to detail. The processed assignments and results can inspire solutions to real problems in the city.
A special prize was awarded to graduate Barbora Tauerová for her project “Virtual Architecture.” The jury appreciated the innovative perspective on the scalability of human emotions in relation to space and the proposed innovative approach to generative design.
The nominated students were Kristina Roman for her impressively artistic project “Borders” and Kristina Horváthová for the high-quality solution of a community house for the South Bohemian town of Velešín.

We congratulate all the awarded and hope that we can meet outside the screens in the summer semester.

More information >