The best new building in Opava will receive the J. M. Olbrich award

Opava - The award named after the prominent architect and native of the Opava region, Joseph Maria Olbrich, has been announced by the civic association Za Opavu. It seeks the best new building completed this year. From the nominated buildings, the jury will determine this year's holder of the J. M. Olbrich Award in December. Tomáš Skalík from the organizing association told ČTK.
    "We invite the public to share their vision of the best new building in the Opava region with us. They can send their suggestions by December 6 to our association's address," he explained. He added that the final winner will be decided by a professional jury, which will include, for example, sculptor Kurt Gebauer and architectural historian Rostislav Švácha.
    The association has been awarding the prize for the second year. During the first year of the award, both new buildings and completed reconstructions were recognized. From this year, these categories will alternate. "With this competition, we want to demonstrate that there are architects in Opava and its surroundings who are capable of measuring their strength against imported ones," Skalík explained.
    J. M. Olbrich was an architect who significantly influenced the European Art Nouveau movement and was among the most renowned of his time. Olbrich was born in Opava, where he also worked briefly. He is, for example, the author of the exhibition pavilion of the Wiener Sezession in Vienna, seven villas, and a building of studios with exhibition halls in the artists' colony in Darmstadt, Germany.