The Jubilee 10th edition of the "Life Under One Roof" competition will honor high school students and educators

The secondary school competition Life Under One Roof enters a new decade and brings a number of innovations for students, schools, and teachers alike. The competition primarily emphasizes the importance of natural daylight in residential spaces. In this jubilee year, the author of the best interior or the school with the highest number of registered projects will also receive an award. Winners will be announced in June 2014.

The winner of the last edition of the competition was Jiří Řapek from SUPŠ Bechyně. The jury was enchanted, among other things, by the use of natural materials.

The 10th anniversary brings awards to schools and teachers
In the Life Under One Roof competition, students can submit projects for family or apartment houses, as well as other types of buildings. For the first time this year, it will also be possible to submit an interior design for a competition building, with the winner receiving 10,000 CZK. For its jubilee, Life Under One Roof will also award other exceptional prizes. The school with the highest number of applications will receive a sponsorship grant of 15,000 CZK for actively supporting students and participating in the competition, which can be used for anything from equipment to recreational activities for students. Two project leaders whose students are the most successful in the national round will also be awarded. They will go on a two-day excursion to active houses in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Silver in 2013 was won by Ondřej Ondřej from SPŠS Valašské Meziříčí. The jury appreciated the contemporary expression of the building and the sober material solution, which is addressed down to the details.

Life Under One Roof allows students to work with light
“With this competition, we want to support not only the creativity of young talents but also enable all students to think about how living in their designed buildings will be. We evaluate not only the aesthetics of the buildings but especially their functionality and potential for practical use. The main criterion is the quality of the illumination of the spaces under the roof. Recently, we have seen that the adequate amount of natural daylight in residential construction is often underestimated, particularly in family houses. Our competition gives students the opportunity to try their hand at designing buildings that will provide quality and comfortable use,” explains the goals of the competition Ing. arch. Klára Bukolská, an architect at VELUX Czech Republic, s.r.o., which organizes it.

Higher quality of projects and greater interest from schools
Interest in participating in the competition among students and schools is increasing every year. The last edition attracted a record 172 students. Students are not afraid to propose bolder concepts, while at the same time creating designs that are very feasible in practice. “Our goal is for all students to get involved in the competition and try out the design of daylighting, so we place a great emphasis on evaluation and rewards in the school rounds,” encourages students Ing. arch. Klára Bukolská.

Thanks to its long-standing tradition and high professionalism, the competition is also positively evaluated by educators. “Our school has participated in the competition since its inception, and we have been recognized in some form in at least five editions. The competition is very popular here; students sign up on their own initiative. I can say that it is a professional competition with good organization and a quality jury,” praises the contribution of Life Under One Roof Ing. Miroslav Maňas from SPŠ stavební Valašské Meziříčí.

Third place in the 9th edition of the competition was won by Martin Pagáč from SPŠ Zlín, who maximally utilized the potential of top lighting.

Two rounds and three absolute winners
The competition has two rounds every year. In the first round, a jury composed of representatives from the registered schools and VELUX selects and awards the six best proposals. The top three proposals from each school then advance to the national round. In the second round, a jury composed of independent experts and one representative from VELUX will convene. Together, they will announce three absolute winners who will each receive prizes worth 30,000 CZK. In addition to the main prizes, the jury may also grant special awards totaling 12,000 CZK.

Registration for the competition is open until January 15, 2014
Registration for the competition is open until January 15, 2014, through an online form on the website www.velux.cz. The deadline for submitting projects is May 15, 2014. The ceremonial announcement of the winners of the jubilee 10th edition of the Life Under One Roof competition will take place in June 2014 at the Písecká brána in Prague with the participation of the jury, winners, their professors, and classmates.

About Life Under One Roof with SPŠS teachers Andrea Kábrtová, SPŠS in Mělník: “The competition has been beneficial not only for me but also for the students who participated. I appreciate the emphasis on daylight, which is of fundamental importance to me. I love sunny and airy spaces and contact with the surrounding environment.” Libor Dubčák, SPŠ Zlín: “Students love to present what they can do and what they have achieved. To succeed, they need to know and be able to do much more than what the school requires of them. The winners of the VELUX competition are the best students even in universities – architecture faculties.” Jarmila Buryová, SŠPU Hodonín: “For us as a school, the competition has become part of the teaching process. For interested students who want to participate in the competition, we provide special education in the area of visualization.”

The Life Under One Roof competition celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

The jubilee 10th edition of the Life Under One Roof competition also brings a number of innovations. For example, the school with the highest number of registered projects will receive a sponsorship grant of 15,000 CZK.

About VELUX
The mission of the VELUX company is to develop and continuously improve products that bring more natural light and fresh air into attic spaces, allow for views of the surroundings, and are in line with modern architectural trends. The VELUX product range includes a wide selection of roof windows, skylights, and flat roof solutions. VELUX also offers a comprehensive range of shading and decorative accessories – from blinds and shades to outdoor shutters and awnings, including a complete system of installation and control elements for manual or electrical operation. A separate group of products utilizes solar energy, such as solar drives for controlling roof windows. VELUX has manufacturing plants in 11 countries around the world and commercial companies in nearly 40 countries. As such, it is one of the strongest companies globally in the building materials industry. Its products are sold in most countries around the world. The VELUX Group employs approximately 10,000 people. It is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited liability company fully owned by the founder and his family.