<div>Kommora architektů considers this year a breakthrough for architecture.</div>

Observation Tower Kelčský Javorník - 2nd prize (Ing. Ondřej Balážik, Ing. arch. Marta Balážiková, Pavel Petrů)

Prague - This year, the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) considers a breakthrough year for domestic architecture. The highest number of architectural competitions has been announced since the establishment of the independent Czech Republic and also in the twenty years of the chamber's existence. This year, 30 architectural competitions and four competitive exhibitions with regular rules and conditions were announced.
     ČKA welcomes this trend and believes that it will continue in the coming years. If this happens, investors will choose project developers primarily based on quality and more transparently than before, which should also increase the number of quality buildings in the Czech Republic.
     However, the chairman of ČKA, Josef Panna, pointed out that serious problems include the current trend in tenders conducted under the Public Procurement Act. According to him, developers are often chosen based on the lowest price, not the price and quality. Therefore, ČKA, along with other experts, advocates for the promotion of the term "safe price," which is a project price capable of delivering a quality building.
     "The goal of the selection process for a construction project or urban plan should be to find a quality, optimal design solution at a reasonable price. The goal should not be to obtain a cheap project at a price that often ranges between 10 and 30 percent of the adequate amount," said Panna, who took over the chairmanship this April. However, if an investor obtains an inadequate project for a very low price, it can jeopardize the quality of the building and logically also increase the costs of construction and subsequent operation, he noted.
     In order for quality buildings and friendly environments for living to arise, specific conditions should be established according to architects, from legislative to ethical to physical ones. Therefore, ČKA participated in the preparations for the extensive and recently adopted amendment to the building law. It also collaborated with the Ministry for Regional Development on the preparation of the implementing decree of the Public Procurement Act, which is currently in the comment phase.
     According to ČKA, the next few years will be particularly important for municipalities and territorial administrative units, which are required to have an urban plan by 2020. The chamber has therefore created a methodology that will help clients navigate this topic and select the executor of the urban plan.