The seventh year of the Kaplicky Internship competition has a winner

The architectural competition Kaplicky Internship 2021 has already announced its winner. In the expert jury, the winner was Valerie Heyworth, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT, with her project “Czech House in Taiwan.” The winner will spend three months on a fully funded internship at the leading London studio Amanda Levete Architects.
Unique competition for students and recent graduates of architectural fields from Czech universities has been organized by the Bakala Foundation in cooperation with the Kaplicky Centre Foundation and the London Design Museum since 2015. This year’s edition of the Kaplicky Internship took place on Thursday, September 23, 2021, in the beautiful premises of the Winternitz Villa in Prague 5.
This year, the expert jury selected from six finalists. The strongest representation among them was from students of the Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT in Prague, with only one finalist being a student from UMPRUM. This year’s edition was also remarkable for the strong representation of women (5 out of 6 in the final round).
The jury included several icons of Czech and international architecture. Among the Czech representatives were Michal Kohout, architect and university educator at FA ČVUT, Regina Loukotová, rector of the private international architectural school ARCHIP, architect and historian Zdeněk Lukeš, and winner of the Kaplicky Internship 2016, Petra Ross, who currently works at the Dutch studio CONIX RDBM Architects. International member Deyan Sudjic, the emeritus director of the London Design Museum, who was a friend of architect Jan Kaplický and played a key role in the inception of the Kaplicky Internship, was also present. Last but not least, Alice Dietsch, director of the London studio Amanda Levete Architects, where this year’s winner will complete her three-month internship, was part of the jury.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of the presented projects; it was really not easy to choose the best one,” says Alice Dietsch. “Valerie convinced us with her presentation, which demonstrated, among other things, attention to detail, broader understanding, and passion for the topic. Personally, I like that her project addresses issues that are key for us at Amanda Levete Architects, such as sustainability, local context, and social themes.”
Alice Dietsch also opened the evening part of the program intended for both professionals and the general public with her presentation. She revisited the beginnings of her career at the Future Systems studio, which was led by Jan Kaplický together with his first wife, Amanda Levete. The architectural studio Amanda Levete Architects is thus connected with the name of Jan Kaplický, whose legacy this competition carries, in several aspects.
“We are glad that the seventh studio collaborating with us as part of the Kaplicky Internship is Amanda Levete Architects, which is among the top contemporary architectural studios in the world,” states Václav Pecha, director of the Bakala Foundation, adding: “This competition opens doors for students and graduates into the international world of architecture. They have the chance to learn from the best in the field and gain insights, know-how, and inspiration that they can subsequently enrich Czech architecture.”
The conclusion of the evening was dedicated to the ceremonial announcement of the competition. The diploma with the promise of an overseas internship was awarded to 26-year-old Valerie Heyworth, a graduate in architecture and urbanism from ČVUT. “The Czech House in Taiwan is a project I worked on as part of my thesis in the studio of Ondřej Císler and Lenka Milerová,” says Valerie Heyworth. “We decided to address this topic, among other things, in response to the somewhat ambivalent stance of the Czech Republic towards Taiwan and its relationship with the People's Republic of China. I see Czech-Taiwanese relations as very important and promising. The construction of a national cultural center would support this partnership.”
So far, six talented young architects from Czech universities have completed internships in leading London studios. They have worked in studios with renowned names such as Eva Jiricna Architects (2015), Zaha Hadid Architects (2016), Allies and Morrison (2017), Adjaye Associates (2018), Heatherwick Studio (2019), and David Chipperfield Architects (2020). Two interns secured full-time employment at the studio after completing their internships.

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