The new price for architecture has 63 nominations

Prague - From nearly five hundred submissions to the first year of the national architecture award, the jury selected 63 buildings. This evening, the nominations were announced by the organizing Czech Chamber of Architects in the cultural space La Fabrika in Prague's Holešovice. In the autumn, about ten finalists will be selected from these, and the overall winner of the Czech Architecture Award will be announced on November 7.

The first year of the competition saw more than a fivefold increase in interest from creators to participate compared to the established Grand Prix of Architects competition organized by the Association of Architects. This year, it recorded only 51 entries, whereas in the past it had been approximately double that. The winner was the reconstruction of the White Tower in Hradec Králové, carried out by the studio Chmelík&partners.

The organizing Czech Chamber of Architects states that it would appreciate greater representation of projects funded with public resources in the competition. Less than half of the nominated works made it to the jury's shortlist. Out of the thirty public buildings, six were created based on a public architectural competition, which the CCA has long advocated as the highest quality and most transparent way to award public contracts.

In addition to prominent names such as Ladislav Lábus, Josef Pleskot, Petr Hájek, and studios like DaM architects, A69, HŠH, or Architects DRNH, the nominations also feature less well-known authors. Several nominated buildings have previously been nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award - the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture. Among them are the Community House in Slavonice (o-va), the revitalization of Gahurova Boulevard in Zlín (ellement), the World of Technology in Ostrava (AP atelier), a residential building with a gym in Prague (DaM architects), Tyrš Bridge in Přerov (Šrámková architects), and the revitalization of the bastion at Božích muk in Prague (MCA atelier).

Prague is represented in the jury's selection by ten projects, including administrative complexes (the interiors of the Socialbakers office in Karlín by D3A and the City Green Court in Pankrác by the architectural firms Richard Meier & Partners, Architects LLP, and Cuboid architects). However, there are also family houses and residential buildings (a villa on Procházková Street in Podolí by Josef Pleskot or the residential building Nad Malovankou by Znamení čtyř). The list is complemented by significant interventions in public spaces (the modifications of the piazzetta near the Chapel of St. Cosmas and Damian in Emauzy by IXA studio or the revitalization of the bastion at Božích muk by MCA atelier).

Brno is represented in the nominations with six projects. Half of the realizations focus on private housing, such as the family house Rezkova by Kuba & Pilař architects. The jury was also impressed by three nominations from Liberec, including the Kinokavárna Varšava, which also stood out in the competing Grand Prix award.

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