For this year's 27th Grand Prix of Architects, organized by the Municipality of Architects association, 180 buildings realized last year in the Czech Republic were entered. An international jury selected the winners of nine categories out of a total of 50 finalists. Its members, in addition to the aforementioned Fokke Moerel, who chaired the jury, and Christian de Portzamparck, were Finnish professor of architecture Pekka Salminen, Slovak architect Tanja Buijs Vitkova and gallery director Jaroslav Fragner Dan Merta.
Kømen - a shelter by the Boulder Waterfall, a footbridge over the Hluboká ditch and a mast with a view were created under the guidance of the teachers of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University, Dalibor Hlaváček and Martin Čeňek. Design-build projects, i.e. teaching in the form of "design and build", allow students to invent the building construction and implement it with their own hands. This alternative to standard teaching has a tradition at the world's leading architectural schools, the Institute of Design II at CTU implements it.
Dalibor Hlaváček and Martin Čeněk have long been praised for their innovative approach to teaching architecture, most recently receiving a special award for it in the Construction of the Year competition in the Central Bohemian Region. They summarized their experience from working at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University and from their own work in the publication Teaching (Sustainable) Architecture, which was published in 2020.
The shelter and the footbridge are part of the faculty's several-year cooperation with the Administration of the Krkonoše National Park, within which students and teachers built a total of five footbridges and six emergency shelters in the Krkonoše Mountains. The Hlaváček - Čeněk studio cooperated with Skanska Reality a. s. on a mast in Libčice nad Vltavou.
The jury awarded the Grand Prix of Architects as the buildings of students affect the landscape and enrich it in contemporary architecture. Dan Merta emphasized that students can focus on detail and bring the quality that the Czech landscape needs..
Kømen - shelter by the Boulder Waterfall
Pedagogical guidance: Dalibor Hlaváček, Martin Čeněk
Authors: Julie Kopecká (autorka konceptu), Anna Blažková, Erik Ebringer, Michael Košař, Michaela Křižáková
Kømen is a simple shelter, a refuge for tourists from bad weather. The inspiration for the shape was the location near the Boulder Waterfall in the Giant Mountains, into which a large stone was wedged until recently. In the concept, the stone is perceived as an integral part of the structure of mountains, a base that captures life and changes over time. The irregular but compact structure of the cozy creates a feeling of security and shelter as the light wood in the interior contrasts with the sheet metal cladding and bad weather.
Link to the gallery of projects Grand Prix of Architects - National Architecture Awards 2020: https://www.inspireli.com/grandprix/detail/1096
Footbridge over Hluboká ditch
Pedagogical guidance: Dalibor Hlaváček, Martin Čeněk
Author: Tomáš Minarovič (autor konceptu), Michal Bílek, Jan Binter, Tereza Chvojková, Ondřej Králík, Matěj Kulhavý, Petra Lávová, Eliška Müllerová, Pavel Struhař
The footbridge is located in the Krkonoše mountains on the slopes of Stoh, in the place where the Hluboká ditch is crossed by a blue tourist trail leading from Špindlerův Mlýn to Klínové Boudy. Its shape is based on the terrain configuration of the trough created by the Deep Ditch and the movement of visitors. With its curve, it creates a continuation of the current path and supports the smoothness of walking. Along the trail there are a minimum of places to rest. The footbridge therefore offers seating with a view thanks to the designed bench, which faces the valley.
Link to the gallery of projects Grand Prix of Architects - National Architecture Awards 2020: https://www.inspireli.com/grandprix/detail/1126
Mast with a view
Pedagogical guidance: Dalibor Hlaváček, Martin Čeněk
Author: Kristýna Rejsková (autorka konceptu), Tereza Čechová, Adam Hofman, Filip Hutera, Lenka Lenčéšová, Jana Sedlická, Sylvie Tesková, Kryštof Vicherek, Anna Vopařilová
A mast with a view is a small intervention in the countryside. It is located in Libčice nad Vltavou, in the place of the planned Na Cihelce park. It is the starting point, an intervention that is supposed to raise the importance of the place, the first construction project in the area, which is to be changed from a neglected place into a park in the future.
Link to the gallery of projects Grand Prix of Architects - National Architecture Awards 2020: https://www.inspireli.com/grandprix/detail/1129
Low-res photography:
Kømen - shelter by the Boulder Waterfall
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n4tu5dprlanmgp6/AAC1ll7AUB-9aJxvaezaCVAba?dl=0
Photo credit Martin Čeněk, Jan Kratochvíl
Footbridge over Hluboká ditch
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0hla2mgnyjsj212/AADBNUJOMILo7UNVbSzJkpgfa?dl=0
Photo credit Martin Čeněk, Jan Kyncl
Mast with a view
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n89iazszwc55hdz/AABpGDoR7v73gtN7qp4pete3a?dl=0
Photo credit BoysPlayNice, Jan Kratochvíl
