Ski Jumping Club | Anežka Prokopová Atelier Hájek, Hulín
Ski Jumping Club The plot in the Zbraslav quarry is unique in many respects. It primarily offers significant elevation, and the high walls completely eliminate the effects of crosswinds. Therefore, I propose a ski jumping club with two ski jumps here. Currently, training ski jumps are found only in mountainous areas, which significantly narrows the circle of interested people in this sport. The establishment of a new center in the south of Prague will attract new supporters and fans.
Jury’s comment: For several semesters in a row, students of Atelier Hájek - Hulín have been addressing a dual problem: they are searching for both a program and a method. The magical charm of Anežka Prokopová's design lies in her masterful handling of the first part of the assignment. With respect to the given parameters of the plot, she managed to maximize efficiency with minimal (architectural and investment) resources. She transformed the constraints and challenges of the plot into strengths. A cozy training center - for Prague a new - sport minimizing the impact of the great enemy of all jumpers - crosswinds. A flight towards a bright goal. A flight that cannot be evaded.
Senior House in Podvinní | Jan Ptáček Atelier Kuzemenský & Synek
The mystery and intimacy of the fences around Rokytka are contrasted by the events flowing along the creek. Picturesque rubble of gardening colonies. Together, a contemporary house for seniors. A home for people, where everyone has their own space, but also the opportunity to gather and not worry about which department they will be moved to. Plus retirees from the surrounding areas who come for a game of cards, a bath, or just to chat. The danger lies in categorizing older people into "categories," separating services, and transferring variously demanding "patients." Therefore, I propose care oscillating around the individual, in accordance with their current needs. The "natural" character of the plot is unreadable, with areas of unclear purpose and a lot of spontaneous greenery. Park Podvinní, the housing complex of "caterpillars," and the sports complex are torn from context. I searched for why a similar shape of the channel and size of the tree rows elsewhere in Rokytka creates a qualitatively better and more intimate space while maintaining the same strong urban feeling. I found it in the fences of industrial areas in old Vysočany. Along the river, there remains only a narrow path, and you can get to the base of the fence that forms the back of the complex. As little as a narrow path, Rokytka, and an ordinary fence are enough to create a pleasant place. Thus, the house creates that magical space by the creek, an initially harsh intervention in the otherwise "green" surroundings. But in the end, it creates a gentle and readable space, as well as a house.
Jury’s comment: Long discussions by the jury regarding a number of very balanced proposals for senior housing crystallized into a decision to select the quality of internal common spaces as the key criterion. The proposal known as the "blue wallpaper," as it spontaneously began to be called, initially stood somewhat in the shadow of attention. This was likely somewhat due to a superficial assessment of the surface. No, in analogy with the metal fences around Rokytka, perhaps the jury did not find the same allure as the author. And perhaps each of the assessors would name ten other "superficial" materials that would age better hand in hand with the residents. But the superficial(-ity) of the proposal only came into play in the last plan. This compact, concentrated house ultimately won us over: with the diversity of residential corridors, terraces and loggias of users, understanding the priority of the user over the system, and the atmosphere of "just add that hidden ashtray."
Dance Hall U Jána in Plzeň | Jiří Deyl Atelier Koucký, Lisecová
The dance and concert hall stands on a devastated site that lost its identity and is left with only a name. The crossroads "U Jána" once symbolized the saint’s death – it was by the river, at the water. The house above the junction is shaped by the movement of cars into the maximum possible volume. It commandeers the remnants of space to provide shelter for people and bring them back to the water. The exterior visible from the car is a dynamic St. John's lure.
Jury’s comment: The building of the dance and concert hall in the center of an exposed traffic hub utilizes the residual urban space left after the cutting up (of the locality) dictated by transportation. In an effort to restore historical and spatial continuity to the place, the underground ground floor organically integrates into the original roots of the old city and, in the vertical created by continuous automotive traffic, subordinates the surroundings. The active façade, nourished in its subsoil by the ever-changing proximity of the river, envelops what may be an overly traditional spatial and layout solution for the hall and its accompanying operational beat.
Victory Square | Martin Pavlun Atelier Aulík
Victory Square has largely remained only in Engle's plans. Today, it forms the center of Dejvice, a vast space defined by a roundabout - an unusable center, extensive areas of insulating greenery, impermeable territory. An oversized area where you cannot see what is happening on the other side cannot serve as a square. Energy for the place cannot come from the defining buildings, which are not significant in any way. The main theme of the proposal is to change the format of the square to a smaller and more familiar one. On today's surface, a town hall, gallery, hotel, and urban house will be created with the space in between that aims to become the center of the district. The resulting image of the buildings reacts to the main axis from the university campus to the part of Dejvice (the original Engle symmetry axis) and the axis that leads us from the center of the city and from the Castle. In the underground floor, the axis of the metro tube emerges, as an important source of events and a vital connection between the station and universities.
Jury’s comment: The idea captured the jury with its directness and boldness. To build on "Kulaťák"? Why not. It would be an act worthy of the beginning of the 21st century. Like when Josef Gočár built in Hradec Králové. A new center in Dejvice, at the place where Prague ends today. New streets will better connect the already existing superb pieces of the city with housing, a lively ground floor full of pubs and small shops, trees, and benches. We are pleased with this project; it examines possibilities, opens questions, and stimulates the mind to act. In the discussion about the completion of Engle's Victory Square, it acts as a detonator, the beginning of something new. Even though the internal space of the newly created square appears quite hard. Should not the new masses be divided by smaller parcels, as is common in the city? It works well not only in Smíchov. We perceive the gallery, town hall, dormitories, and housing as functions fulfilling urban experimentation. The proposal is at the beginning of an amazing journey towards a strong center in Dejvice.
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