The Club for Old Prague awarded buildings in České Budějovice and Turnov

Prague - The winners of the Club for Old Prague Award have for the first time been two buildings. The completion of the regional library in České Budějovice and the new exhibition of the Mountaineering Museum in Turnov were successful. The organizers of the award, which has been given for 18 years for the best new building in a historic environment, selected them from seven finalists. The awards were announced today in Prague.

The South Bohemian Scientific Library, which is the regional library, opened an extension and facilities for more than 100,000 books last year, designed by Ladislav Kuba and Tomáš Pilař from Atelier Kuba & Pilař architects. The extension is a low single-story building, whose glass walls are only partially covered by slats from all sides; the simple interior is mainly made of exposed concrete. It is connected to the original library building, and a wide, slightly sloping ramp connects it to the sidewalk. The entire extension is barrier-free.

Kuba and Pilař have previously been nominated twice by the Club for Old Prague for the award, which according to its members does not disrupt the historic environment, excels in valuable architecture, and cultivates its surroundings. This year they won and share the award with the hipposdesign studio created by Radim Babák and Ondřej Tobola, who received the award for the new exhibition of the Mountaineering Museum in the area of the Czech Paradise Museum in Turnov.

The exhibition creates an analogy for a walk in mountainous terrain. It is made of birch and oak plywood anchored to load-bearing wooden profiles. The atypical inserted furniture in white resembles sharp rocks. The Mountaineering Museum introduces visitors to the development and important milestones, contains interactive elements, and displays many photographs and original tools that were until now only the treasures of their creators, the climbers themselves.

From the third floor of the building, it is possible to walk across an external footbridge to another part of the museum complex, which is from the 1970s. The ground floor has also been redesigned; it is larger, and the architects removed various extensions and planted trees. A new stepped staircase, serving as a meeting place or auditorium, is part of the ground floor, which is used for cultural events. The exhibition recalling the history and present of Czech mountaineering received the Museum Achievement of the Year 2019 award as part of the Gloria musaealis competition.

Among the nominations for the Club for Old Prague Award were the gazebo of the municipal library in Vamberk, designed by Martin Kožnar, a multifunctional building in Pelhřimov from Karel Kupka's studio, and a community center in Mnichovo Hradiště from Projektil studio. Among the seven finalists were two buildings in Prague – Projektil also worked on the completion of the Scout club Pastouška in Zbraslav, and the studio Znamení čtyř is the author of the residential building on Sámova Street in Vršovice.

The Club for Old Prague is a non-political civic association dedicated to the protection of monuments in Prague. The club monitors the changes in the city and expresses its views on individual reconstructions or new constructions in the metropolis.