The Břetislav Štorm Prize competition has been following the work of students of the Faculty of Architecture for 14 years. The aim of the competition, organized by the Institute of Monument Conservation of the CTU Faculty of Architecture, is to promote interest in the field and increase readiness for practice in the field of monument conservation. The award is named after the prominent Czech conservationist, architect, graphic designer and illustrator Břetislav Štorm. The award ceremony for the last three years, held after a covid break, took place on 23 June 2022 at the Kotlářka estate.
"The prize is an encouragement for architecture students who are able to look at objects in their historical and local context, and at the same time place them sensitively and functionally in the present. This brings them back to life," says Dalibor Hlaváček, dean of the FA CTU.
The winner of the 14th year was Eliška Houdová from the Girsa studio with her project for the conservation of the torso of the Zvířetice Castle. The work presented two different approaches to the repair of torsion architecture. In the conservation variant, the author proposed securing the crowns of the masonry, stabilisation interventions, bricking up of the cavern and niches, repairs of stone lining, brackets and rubble masonry. In the more radical version of the reconstruction, the completion is brought to the maximum possible extent thanks to the finding situations and historical sources that support the reconstruction.
"The author of the project proposed sensitive conservation repairs that can extend the life of the monument. Thanks to professional workmanship, proposal´s reliance on given findings and historical sources, this work would stand up to the actual restoration of the torso according to the standards of conservation," said the chairman of the jury doc. Martin Horáček, an architectural historian from the Department of Art History at Palacký University in Olomouc and the Institute of Heritage Care at the Faculty of Architecture in Brno.
The winner of the 13th edition was Tomáš Beneš for his design of the restoration of the village square in the village of Stvolínky in the Českolipsko region. He is returning the extinct buildings to the historical centre affected by demolitions and also solves the modifications of the central area in front of the local castle. "The proposal restores the spatial, architectural and residential qualities to the place, which it lost due to insensitive interventions in the previous regime," said Martin Horáček, summarising the jury's evaluation.
The winning project of the 12th edition was prepared by Klára Bohuslavová. She won the award for her urban planning study of the revitalization of the Žatec hops-growing landscape in the vicinity of Stekník Castle. The author deals with the complex restoration of landscape elements, the design of hiking trails, nature trails and cycle paths, transport services in the area, the design of new tourist attractions and facilities. "The quality of this proposal is underlined by the fact that the work became part of the documentation for the nomination of Žatecko to the UNESCO World Heritage List," Horáček said of the project.
The Břetislav Štorm Award was first announced in 2009. It is organized by the Institute of Monument Conservation of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague in cooperation with the Czech National Committee of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites). The jury is always chaired by a respected personality from the field of architecture and conservation.
It is named after the prominent Czech conservationist, architect, graphic designer and illustrator Břetislav Štorm (1907-1960). During his work in the state conservation service he was involved in the modification of many important buildings, especially castles and chateau grounds. According to his proposal and methodical guidance, rescue and restoration works were carried out especially at Kost, Švihov, Buchlov, Křivoklát and Karlštejn castles. His involvement in the restoration of castles in Chlumec nad Cidlinou, Boskovice, Klášterec nad Ohří and in the rehabilitation of castle gardens in Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou, Rájec nad Svitavou, Veltrusy, Mnichovo Hradiště, Jemniště and Liblice was significant.
14th edition, 2021–2022
1. prize: Eliška Houdová – ateliér Girsa, Konzervace torza zámku Zvířetice
2. prize: Kristýna Šedivá – ateliér Girsa, Regenerace objektu Železná 109 v Železném Brodě
3. prize: Vojtěch Palm – ateliér Efler, Regenerace usedlosti Schöffl v Trnovanech
13th edition, 2020–2021
1. prize: Tomáš Beneš – ateliér Girsa, Obnova návsi ve Stvolínkách
2. prize: Eliška Zatloukalová – ateliér Girsa, Obnova kostela Všech svatých ve Stvolínkách
3. prize: Kateřina Tomsová a Vojtěch Palm – ateliér Efler, Obnova krušnohorské vesnice Český Jiřetín
12th edition, 2019–2020
1. prize: Klára Bohuslavová – ateliér Efler, Revitalizace žatecké chmelařské krajiny v okolí zámku Stekník
2. prize: Martin Kolovský – ateliér Girsa, Obnova glorietu u zámku v Rožmberku nad Vltavou
3. prize: Tomáš Rain – ateliér Girsa, Konverze areálu Branických ledáren v Praze
Photos and awarded projects can be found here. source: FA ČVUT
