The results of the competition are usually announced simultaneously with the opening of the traveling exhibition of the awarded projects. "Due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic this year the organizers had to make a different approach," said competition secretary Vít Řezáč. The winners and all the winners were announced on the Facebook profile of the competition and on the website of the Faculty of Architecture on Wednesday, 8 April at exactly 13.30. So far, the exhibition will only be available online. The competition, formerly known as the Best Urban Project, is organized by the Institute of Spatial Planning of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague under the auspices of the Association for Urban Planning and Spatial Planning and the Czech Chamber of Architects.
The competition is open to all students who created a semester project registered as an urban project in the given academic year. Master diploma projects cannot enter into the competition. This year, a total of 32 entries were submitted - 11 projects came from students from the FA CTU in Prague, 14 from the FA STU in Bratislava, 5 from the FA BUT, 1 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering CTU in Prague and 1 from the Liberec FUA TUL.
The evaluations were accompanied by a rich discussion of the breadth, type and different scope of the submitted works. These included public space projects, landscaping, and the larger roles of new neighborhoods. Traditionally, one regulatory plan was also registered. The jury thus evaluated not only the outcome and its scope, but also the degree of invention and the quality and presentation of the process that led to the design. Although a total of 9 proposals advanced to the second round, the judges agreed on six awarded winners after a long debate. The final vote then decided the final ranking.
1st place
The winner is Vanda Kotková from the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague, from the Novotný-Koňata-Zmek Studio, Design Institute I, with her project Prague-re_vize / Bohdalec. comprehensively deals with the difficult topic of one of the key localities for the development of the city, the large development area of Bohdalec-Slatin. The jury appreciated its clear procedure and thorough analysis and quality of the design. She also positively evaluated the author's thinking in layers, suggesting focal points in the area (centers of its development) and directions of permeability.
2nd-3rd place
The second and third place were shared by two awards. Roman Hrabánek, student of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague, and Jakub Sedláček from the Faculty of Architecture, Brno University of Technology. The work of Roman Hrabánek from the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Kohout-Tichý studio, the Institute of Building Science, deals with the design of the New Quarter in Olomouc. The jury appreciated that it was a well thought-out concept of a new district in the territory of a large army brownfield. In his project Brownfield Veletržní in Brno, Jakub Sedláček deals with the revitalization of the former clothing factories and the surrounding area in the wider center of Brno. His design elaborated in the Studio of Urban Design of the Institute of Architecture of Brno University of Technology impressed the jury with simple and comprehensible elaboration and conviction of the designed urban structure. The jury liked his thinking about the principles of sustainability and concrete measures, which in the context of the present should be a natural part of every urban task.
The jury decided to award a pair of Barbora Gunišová and Dominik Haviar from the Institute of Urban Design and Spatial Planning at FA STU in Bratislava for their project Transformation of the Dynamitka premises - Bratislava-Dimitrovka. The project excels in a clear and comprehensible analytical part and a nice “zoom ratio” in the design part. Last but not least, the jury was also intrigued by a superb urban design task, which transforms the Bratislavan area of 105 ha into an autonomous city neighbourhood.
The jury also rewarded Bohdan Hollý from Institute of Urban Design and Spatial Planning, FA STU in Bratislava for the Kollár Square in Bratislava. His bachelor thesis revitalizes an important public space in the center of Bratislava. The jury highlighted a good analysis of public spaces in a wider territorial context, as well as a subsequent proposal offering a diverse use of space taking into account the different needs of users and institutions located there. The jury also positively appraised the ecological use of rainwater and transport solutions in the form of associated stops allowing the use of autonomous passenger vehicles.
Tomáš Kadák and Matej Mega from the Institute of Urban Design and Spatial Planning at FA STU in Bratislava received a reward for the project of Transformation of Dimitrovka in Bratislava, a large industrial area. In its evaluation of their project, the jury mentions a well-developed analytical part, in which the authors examine the broader context, analyze the greenery, operation functionality, transport, composition and history of the area.
