The Old Prague Club Awards have six nominations, exceptionally even from Prague

Bílovice nad Svitavou, municipal office, post office, library, Pavel Pekár, PP architects

Prague - The municipal office, residential building, garages, church, community center, and distillery have been nominated for the Club for Old Prague Award. The award is given for a successful new building that does not disrupt, but rather enhances the historical environment. The nominated buildings are located in smaller towns, with Brno traditionally represented, and after a long time, Prague as well. The six finalists were announced today by the organizers, who will declare the winner on March 14 in Prague.

The first finalist is a building in Bílovice nad Svitavou near Brno, designed by Pavel Pekár from P. P. Architects studio. It comprehensively addresses the center of the village. The task included creating a new municipal office, library, ceremonial hall, post office, summer bar, and garden of the municipal inn, as well as the main square of the village, which was previously missing. In the center of Brno, Petr Hrůša, Igor Bielik, and Vít Zenkl built a multi-story garage. The fruit distillery in Javornice was created from an old village house, which was completed by the ADR studio (Petr Kolář and Aleš Lapka). In the new complex, rustic and industrial elements resonate together.

The residential buildings on Koněvova Street in Prague were built by A.LT Architects. They tried to avoid disrupting the surrounding structures, which is why instead of one larger building, they opted for two smaller residential buildings on the available plot. The colors of the facade and the dimensions of the windows adapt to the traditional Žižkov architecture, and because the building is near Vítkov Hill, the authors created a large passage that connects the busy street with a quieter environment.

The community center in Ratíškovice in the Hodonín region (Tomáš Havlíček from the studio Flying Engineers) is remarkable for its atypical structure of the main hall, where load-bearing frames intersect, formed by columns and trusses. Therefore, it received an award in the Wooden Building of the Year competition several years ago. The new building adjoins the municipal inn and includes two multipurpose halls, a bowling alley, and related facilities.

The St. Wenceslas Church in Sazovice in the Zlín region was built by Marek Štěpán, a well-known Brno designer primarily of sacred buildings. The minimalist structure with a circular floor plan is situated in the center of the village.

The Club for Old Prague aims to contribute to the dialogue between heritage preservationists and architects through its competition, whose efforts sometimes appear to be at odds with each other based on commonly shared opinions. The club appreciates buildings that, in its view, do not disrupt the historical environment, feature valuable architecture, and cultivate their surroundings. Last year, the reconstruction and extension of the White Tower in Hradec Králové won. The project was worked on by the studio Chmelík & partners.