Ostrava is looking for a director for the city architecture studio

Ostrava - Ostrava is looking for a director for the newly established City Studio of Spatial Planning and Architecture (MAPPA), which will begin functioning as a city contribution organization from the summer. The deadline for applications is mid-June, city hall spokesperson Andrea Vojkovská told reporters today.

The studio aims to promote quality architecture and urban planning in the city. In March, its establishment was approved by city councilors despite criticism from the opposition. The opposition pointed out that the studio's creation was insufficiently prepared and discussed within a broader political spectrum.

The new head of the institution will be responsible for its staffing and presenting the studio's results. Their tasks will also include communication with the public. The selection process will be in two rounds. In the first round, candidates will submit applications; in the second, they will be invited to present their vision for the functioning of the city studio before a selection committee, which will decide on the winner likely in July. The committee will include representatives of the city, but independent experts will have a majority presence.

The Ostrava studio will be similar to institutions that operate, for example, in Vienna or Helsinki, but also in some large Czech cities - Brno, Prague, or Karlovy Vary.

"At this moment, we are announcing an open selection process for the director of the city studio. However, we want to proactively identify and approach potential candidates ourselves. We will reach out to universities, the Czech Chamber of Architects, the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague, the Office of the Architect of the City of Brno, and other institutions and architects. I am confident that we will find the right person who will visibly advance architecture and public space in Ostrava," said Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO).

Candidates must have completed higher education in a master's program and have a minimum of three years of experience in a managerial role. They must possess managerial, organizational, communication, and presentation skills. Education in architecture and urban planning or a related field will be an advantage, as well as experience in strategic and community planning, knowledge of contemporary urban planning trends and public space quality, and an overview of current developments in urbanism and architecture.

This year's budget for the institution will be ten million crowns, and next year it will be twenty million crowns. By 2020, it is anticipated that the studio will employ a fifteen-member team.