The aim of the competition is to present excellent creative work and to reflect the quality and direction of teaching at the largest school of architecture in the Czech Republic. A new feature of the second year of the competition is a statuette by design graduate Klára Janypková, which was presented by Dean Dalibor Hlaváček to all the winners.
"The Dean's Award was established only last year, but it has already established itself in the life of the faculty. My ambition is to cover as wide a range of student work as possible that is produced in our school. That is one of the reasons why this year we have added awards for first-year and theoretical term papers. Thesis supervisors nominated nearly a hundred projects for the award, from which the judges selected 26 finalists and 6 winning papers. Congratulations to all of them! I was also very pleased with the response to the competition for the form of the statuette for the winners of the Dean's Award. Overall, 30 designs were submitted, from which we selected a magical all-glass artefact in the shape of the Faculty of Architecture building," says Dalibor Hlaváček.
Natálie Finsterlová won in the category of studio work of the first year with her design of an underground shelter - a refuge from war. The jury appreciated the author's work with basic architectural themes that have been used in the past and their new approach.
The best studio landscape project was developed by Lucie Flanderková and Jessica Kleistnerová. Their work focuses on the landscape of Rožmitál pod Třemšínem and the judges highlighted small, clever interventions that promote the permeability and livability of the landscape and the collaboration between the landscape designer and the architect.
Karolína Čechová and Victoria Cheremnykh were the winners in the Urban Planning category for the Milovice Master Plan. The jury appreciated the conceptual work and the presentation of the genesis of the concept.
In the Architecture category, the first place went to Karolína Hausenblasová with her design for the Greenhouse Na Brusnici. Complex and legible intervention into the territory, unpretentious landscaping and quality of the project - the jury justified the decision.
The best diploma thesis of last year at Faculty of Architecture is Úboč No. 34 - Institute of Memory of Nations by David Foud. The jury appreciated the sensitive and comprehensive treatment of the current topic.
Marianna Páleníková was chosen as the author of the best theoretical term paper. The jury highlighted the careful research approach of the House of Unions Istropolis in Bratislava, where the author managed to track down previously unknown historical materials about its history and potencials.
The evaluation of the studio and diploma projects was decided by a jury consisting of Dalibor Hlaváček, Jan Němeček, Tomáš Novotný, Jiří Opočenský, Lucie Vogelová and Markéta Zdebská. Theoretical theses were evaluated by Dalibor Hlaváček, Josef Chybík, Petr Kratochvíl, Henrieta Moravčíková, Martin Pospíšil, Maria Topoľčanská and Petr Vorlík.
The jury decided not to award the design prize in the category of studio works of 2nd-5th year students and in the category of Science and Research.
Winners of the Dean's Award 2022:
Dean's Award for the first year studio project
Natálie Finsterlová – Shelter, atelier Sládek–Blank
Autor´s report:
War. A word that evokes feelings of anxiety, fear and danger in all of us. Of course, one can hide from war in an underground bunker. In mine, each of the three floors has a square open space and small chambers that are used in different ways: as a place to sleep, as a bathroom, as a storage room. The bunker can be navigated by spiral stairs and an elevator, both of which lead up to a hut above ground level that receives light only from the inner square atrium.
Jury´s comment:
Progressive work with the topic of castle ground plan. The jury was fascinated by the innovative translation of this principle into the underground and the creation of a bunker as a refuge from war. The artist works with basic architectural themes that have been used in the past, but has approached them in a new way. By using the principle of serviced and serviced spaces and defining their relative proportions, a pleasant space to inhabit is created. The project is up-to-date, spatially interesting and very well presented.
The project can be found in the gallery on the website of FA CTU here.
Dean's Award for studio project of 2nd - 5th year
Architecture category
Karolína Hausenblasová – Na Brusnici conservatory, atelier Císler–Milerová
Autor´s report:
The design is based on the character of the current state of the bastions of the northern fortifications of Prague. Solitary buildings, ruins of walls, park landscaping and close contact with the castle. I see the corner as an opportunity to connect worlds. Crossing the border. Brusnice is the foreground of Lumbe Gardens, descending to the Deer Moat. With good will, one can walk from Střešovice to Malostranská practically only through the gardens. The breach in the walls may be a new gateway to the old heart of Prague. A public greenhouse extends the axis of Jelení Street. The straightening of the tram line according to the original curtin extends the meadow opening up to the view of St. Vitus Cathedral. A silver colonnade surrounds the semi-transparent volume of the building, serving as a roofed backdrop to the park. The etched glass, together with the plants behind the envelope, creates a vivid image projected onto the walls of the park. Garden within a garden.
Jury´s comment:
The work represents a subtle, yet very complex and legible intervention into a territory that certainly deserves cultivation. The unpretentiousness with which the student shapes the road networks and landscaping suggests a certain complacency with which the design can be perceived. The accent in the form of the public greenhouse/café, a small architectural object with a simple operational solution, is appropriate and creates a pleasant backdrop to the site. In addition, the proposal is well and clearly presented.
The project can be found in the gallery on the website of FA CTU here.
Landscape Architecture Category
Lucie Flanderková anf Jessica Kleistnerová – Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, Jakub Jan Ryba´s trails, Krajinou rybničního půlměsíce, atelier Salzmann–Bečvářová
Autor´s report:
In Rožmital pod Třemšínem, water was the theme from the very first moment. It is therefore not surprising that we chose the pond system, which cuts across the cadastral territory, as our task. We want to bring people closer to water, water to people. The design of the individual minimum interventions was linked to the new road network, to which we linked anti-erosion measures that would be able to hold back water on arable land.
Jury´s comment:
The author's team designed small, clever interventions that promote permeability and livability of the landscape. The work is engagingly and clearly presented. The jury also appreciates the teamwork between the landscape architect and the architect.
The project can be found in the gallery on the website of FA CTU here.
Urbanism Category
Karolína Čechová and Victoria Cheremnykh – Milovice masterplans, atelier Šindlerová
Autor´s report:
The Milovice Master Plan project is based on the urban design of the summer semester 2021. The project was based on the vision of creating a twin town Milovice - Lysá nad Labem. Only the central part of the town was dealt with in detail, with the greatest deficiencies in the range between the railway station and the eastern end of Benátecká Vrutice. The draft master plan covers the entire territory of Milovice, including the area of Boží Dar. The spatial plan allows for further development of Milovice in development areas. It adds areas of civic amenities, integrates the town into the broader landscape network and creates a continuous network of high quality public spaces using and supporting the existing qualities of the area.
Jury´s comment:
The project brings conceptual work on settlement structure, transport infrastructure and landscape layout into planning. The broader values are then successfully translated into detailed design. The jury also appreciated the presentation of the genesis of the concept, which is valuable when defending the project to the client.
The project can be found in the gallery on the website of FA CTU here.
Dean's Award for Master's Thesis
David Foud – Úboč. 34 – Memory of Nations instutue, atelier Hradečný–Hradečná
Autor´s report:
The diploma thesis deals with the solution of the Institute of Memory of the Nation for the Pilsen Region located in a rural farmstead in the village of Úboč in the Domažlice region, which was one of the many farms affected by persecutions in the 1950s. The design uses the existing buildings and complements them with underground and above-ground buildings conceived in a simple form, linking the buildings into a single whole. Individual existing buildings are converted, but at the same time the authentic appearance of the buildings is preserved without significant external interventions, as a carrier of the memory of the place. The design includes an audiovisual exhibition of the Institute of Memory of Nations and spaces for education.
Jury´s comment:
The jury appreciated the sensitive and complex treatment of the current topic, where the cleaned historical structures are refined with elements of contemporary architecture.
You can take a look at the work here.
Dean's Award for Theoretical Semester Thesis
Marianna Páleníková – House of Unions Istropolis in Bratislave – Revitalization of an Icon of Slovak Postwar Architecture, thesis leader Ing. arch. Tomáš Efler
Autor´s report:
The diploma thesis offers a vision for the revitalization of the Istropolis complex with a focus on the House of Unions . The complex is adapted to the functional requirements of the Cultural and Congress Centre. In an attempt to offer a strategy for working with the architecture of the second half of the twentieth century, a proposal is offered for the wider zone as well as for a stand-alone building. Approaches of adaptation to a new function, revitalization of the original concept as well as contextual extension are used. The design includes the solution of the adjacent public space, a new concept of communication and functional layout. The aim is a sensitive architecture that preserves and develops the qualities of the original concept for the needs of the future.
Jury´s comment:
The work was created from several angles and examines the history, form and potential of the significant architectural ensemble Istropolis in Bratislava. It focuses on the urban and spatial context, the materials used, the construction, the design and the artworks, providing a plastic picture not only of the building itself but also of the contemporary ambitions embedded in it. The jury appreciated the precise, balanced structure of the text, the refinement of the language and the careful research approach of the student, who, despite the attention focused on Istropolis by many experts, managed to track down previously unknown historical materials. The student also earned respect for her moral integrity and the energy she put into the study (and subsequent proposal for the revitalization) of a building whose fate was already sealed at the time of this work.
You can take a look at the work here.
Pictorial annex and drawing documentation are available here.
Photos of the winners and statuettes are available here.