Žďár n. S. will select a city architect from nine applicants

Žďár nad Sázavou - In Žďár nad Sázavou, a city architect should oversee the quality of new development from December. He will be selected in the next month from nine applicants who have applied for the position at the city hall. This was stated today by the deputy mayor of Žďár, Josef Klement (KDU-ČSL), to journalists. According to a survey by ČTK, other major cities in the Vysočina region do not have their own architect.
    Even in Žďár nad Sázavou, with a population of 21,000, the selected architect will not be an employee of the city hall; he will work for them based on a contract for work. According to Klement, thanks to his involvement, the buildings in Žďár nad Sázavou could have a more cohesive character. Private investors could consult with the architect. "For municipal buildings, this architect will have a binding opinion," he added.
    The Žďár city hall began considering a city architect with the arrival of the new leadership after last year's municipal elections. Mayor Zdeněk Navrátil (Žďár-živé město) previously said that the development in Žďár suffered from 40 years of communism, which, according to him, on the other hand offers the opportunity to build in the city in a modern and interesting way.
    The acceptance of applications for the selection procedure for the city architect was closed on October 16. The original deadline was extended by a month because the city was not satisfied with the three submitted applications. "We directly approached specific architects and architectural offices," Klement stated. The applicants will also be evaluated by architects; the chairman of the selection committee will be Marek Janatka from the Czech Chamber of Architects.
    In the regional capital Jihlava, an architect leads the department of urban planning, but the position of a city architect has not been created there. Currently, Třebíč, the second largest city in the Vysočina region, also does not have a city architect.