The Building of the Year 2021 in the Liberec Region became the roastery with a café DOK Nordbeans

Liberec - The Liberec roastery with café DOK Nordbeans won this year's main Karel Hubáček award in the competition for the Building of the Year for the Liberec Region 2021. The jury appreciated the high quality of the architectural solution when utilizing a brownfield. The architects from the ANUK architects studio succeeded in transforming and revitalizing part of a neglected railway warehouse in the center of Liberec. This year, the jury and the public had the opportunity to choose from 29 projects submitted by investors or contractors to the competition, said Filip Trdla, spokesperson for the regional office, on the occasion of today's announcement of results to ČTK.

In the public voting, DOK finished in second place, behind the new pavilion of the kindergarten in Mníšek near Liberec. The pavilion with suspended didactic elements received 1557 votes from the public, 178 more than the roastery with café.

While in public voting the focus is mainly on the social significance of the building, the jury's work is much more challenging. "The palette this year was again very diverse, and the quality of the buildings pleasantly surprised us. However, given the differences in the character of the buildings, our decision-making is very difficult. For us, the most important criteria are the quality of the building in terms of architecture, execution, but also the cultivation of public space and the environment in which the building is located," said architect Petr Janoš from the Technical University in Liberec, who was a jury member for the second time.

In the category of Residential Buildings, the jury awarded the conversion of an old neglected granary in the Českolipsko region into a recreational house, and in the category of Public Buildings, the Špička Lookout near Tanvald won. A special jury award for the preservation of architectural heritage was awarded to the Biomass Boiler House in Andělská hora. The investor utilized a valuable Art Nouveau building of the original boiler house for modern technology, which was sensitively reconstructed. The building is part of a former textile factory from the early 20th century, which is one of the most significant monuments of industrial architecture in the Liberec Region.

The Liberec governor Martin Půta (Mayors for the Liberec Region) also presented his award today, praising the modern extension of the Glass and Jewelery Museum in Jablonec nad Nisou, resembling a giant chaton - a cut glass stone typical for the local jewelry production.

The competition for the Building of the Year has been held in the Liberec Region for the seventeenth time, and since 2019 it has borne the name of architect Karel Hubáček, who was awarded the prestigious Perret Prize by the International Union of Architects for the hotel and transmitter at the top of Liberec's Ještěd. The aim of the competition is to highlight interesting and quality buildings in the region. Last year's participation was significantly larger, with the jury then assessing 48 projects. The main award last year was given to the new headquarters of the glass company Lasvit in Nový Bor, where two historic houses from the late 18th century were sensitively integrated with modern extensions.