<div>Měšťanská beseda in Plzeň won the title Building of the Year 2005</div>

    PLZEŇ - The renovated Měšťanská beseda in Plzeň, which was declared the best building of the year in the Plzeň Region, also received a nationwide award for Building of the Year 2005. "The title is a recognition of the work of skilled craftsmen, restorers, and gilders who managed to imitate the natural, long-established craft," said architect Jan Soukup, who led the reconstruction of the building. He accepted the award on Tuesday at the For Arch fair in Prague.
    The monumentally protected Měšťanská beseda began serving the public this January after five years of renovation. The reconstruction, costing nearly 300 million crowns, returned the Art Nouveau building to its original appearance. All artistic elements were restored by experts according to period photographs, and missing parts were supplemented with copies based on original models.
    The title of Building of the Year was awarded for the thirteenth time this year. The competition traditionally evaluates the overall quality of new buildings and reconstructions. A total of 48 buildings were entered, of which 15 received nominations. In addition to the reconstruction of Měšťanská beseda, the Západočeské energetiky building on Guldenerova Street and the bridge over České údolí were also nominated from Plzeň. These buildings did not receive nominations.
    The title of Building of the Year 2005 was also awarded to the reconstructions of Pachtova Palace and Jiráskovo House in Prague, the National Integrated Air Traffic Control Center of the Czech Republic, Prague, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno - a specialized teaching space building, and the pavilion for internal fields of the Faculty Hospital in Hradec Králové.
    The award is presented by Economia publishing house, the foundation for the development of architecture and construction - ABF, the Association of Builders in Construction, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.