The Chamber of Architects will be led by Jan Kasl

The Board of the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) at its first meeting after the elections, held on April 20 at the general assembly, elected architect Jan Kasl as its chairman, thus confirming his mandate and continuing in the role he has held since April 2019. Markéta Zdebská becomes the first vice-chairwoman, and Petr Lešek was elected as the second vice-chairman.

Program priorities of ČKA for 2024

The general assembly approved the main points outlining the program priorities of the ČKA for the upcoming period during its meeting on April 20. Like in previous years, attention will be paid to promoting architectural competitions that prioritize quality design over the lowest bid price and advocating for the positions of municipal and regional architects. Furthermore, ČKA will devote greater care to a new system of lifelong education for architects focused on sustainability and climate change, also in connection with the New European Bauhaus initiative, which links architecture and art with the worlds of science, education, and innovation within the Green Deal policy. Selected seminars and training will also be offered to the young generation of recent graduates in architecture, with whom closer contact has been established at the beginning of this year. As every year, ČKA will promote quality architecture and systematic care for the built environment through the Czech Architecture Award or in cooperation with selected associations and entities. Last but not least, ČKA will continue to strive for the assignment of public contracts with an emphasis on quality; it will also focus on disadvantageous contracts for work that are often presented to architects by public procurers, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Regional Development, it will attempt to finalize the issuance of Model Contracts for public procurers. The general assembly also expressed concern over the delayed preparation of the digitization process for building proceedings as well as the National Geoportal for spatial planning.

Chairman Jan Kasl

As chairman of the ČKA, he has represented architects since April 2019, relying on his extensive experience and knowledge not only in the field of architecture and politics. He is also a member of administrative and academic councils, committees, advisory boards, and commissions; he is active in the area of strategic and spatial planning in Prague, as well as in residential and commercial construction; recently, he has also been focusing on the landscape and urban integration of major transportation projects into the city's structure (completion of the City Ring Road and other constructions). In his proposals, he advocates a comprehensive, holistic approach based on the principles of long-term sustainability and quality of the built environment. He studied architecture and urbanism in 1976 at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at ČVUT and immediately after his studies began practicing; he currently leads the JK ARCHITEKTI studio. From 1990 to 2006, he was active in municipal politics, serving as the mayor of Prague from 1998 to 2002.

Complete composition of the ČKA bodies

At the XXXI. general assembly, elections were held for all self-governing bodies – the board of directors, the supervisory board, and the disciplinary court.

Board of Directors of ČKA
Chairman: Jan Kasl
1st Vice-Chairwoman: Markéta Zdebská, 2nd Vice-Chairman: Petr Lešek
The board also includes: Štěpánka Endrle, Lada Kolaříková, Pavel Martinek, David Mateásko, Ondřej Remeš, Ondřej Rys, Petr Tej, Zdeněk Trefil.

Supervisory Board of ČKA
Chairman: Miroslav Holubec
1st Vice-Chairman: Mirko Lev, 2nd Vice-Chairman: Vít Podráský
The supervisory board also includes: Michal Hadlač, Martina Havlová, Marek Janatka, Jana Janíková, Josef Patrný, and Ondřej Tuček.

Disciplinary Court of ČKA
Chairman: Milan Kopeček
Vice-Chairman: Václav Šebek
The Disciplinary Court also includes: Markéta Bromová, Lukáš Janáč, Luděk Jasiok, Tomáš Novotný, Milan Nytra, Marie Římalová, and Josef Vrana.