5th year of the Czech Architecture Award has 27 nominations

The Czech Chamber of Architects announced at the nomination evening of the 5th year of the Czech Architecture Award, held on June 24, 2020, at the Kotelna facility in the Uhelný mlýn complex in Libčice nad Vltavou, twenty-seven works that were nominated for the prestigious selection by an international jury. The name of the holder of the Main Prize and other finalists will be revealed to the public on November 24, 2020, at the festive gala evening at the Forum Karlín.

Among the buildings selected by the jury, one-third are funded by public sources (exactly 10), while two-thirds are private (17). Two projects emerged from architectural competitions confirmed by the Czech Chamber of Architects. These are the New Town Hall in Prague 7 / Atelier bod architekti - Finalist of the CCA 2019 (competition in 2016) and the Jan Palach Memorial in Všetaty / MCA atelier (competition in 2015/2016).

Two-thirds of the nominated works were completed last year (exactly 20). Their typology is diverse. Most prominently represented, as is usually the case in the Czech Architecture Award reality, are housing projects, whether private, intended for recreation, or mass (7). The second strongest representation includes company headquarters or commercial spaces. Encouragingly, there are four projects in the public space. Another two buildings serve a public function. The diversity of the submitted works is complemented by two lookout towers (Lookout Tower on Velká Deštná / architekti.in; Doubravka Lookout Tower / Huť architektury Martin Rajniš), a memorial object (Jan Palach Memorial in Všetaty / MCA atelier), a sports facility (Panorama Golf Resort / Huť architektury Martin Rajniš), a church (Renovation of the Church in Hodslavice / OBJEKTOR ARCHITEKTI), or a kindergarten (Kindergarten Za Branou Pacov / VYŠEHRAD atelier). This year also features small projects (Tree house / Jan Tyrpekl - Finalist CCA 2018); Right Village Stop / DPA; Kømen - cabin by the Boulder Waterfall / 1:1 lab • FA ČVUT).

Where is the highest quality architecture in our country?
The most nominated realizations are in Prague, totaling nine, which accounts for one-third of the advancing works. In an imaginary second place this year is the Hradec Králové Region with five selected buildings. Central Bohemia and South Moravia regions each have three nominations.

Four teams have succeeded in previous editions of the CCA
Among the authors of the nominated buildings are both established studios and less known creators. Four author teams, whose realizations were nominated by the jury, are already known from previous editions of the Czech Architecture Award as awarded Finalists. Atelier CHYBIK + KRISTOF ARCHITECTS & URBAN DESIGNERS, Finalist CCA 2017 with the project Furniture Gallery, has three entries this year. They are MANIFESTO Smíchov, Enotéka Znojmo, and Vinařství Lahofer. Atelier 111 architects succeeded in last year's edition of the CCA, where it became a Finalist for the realization of the Cabin by the Pond. This year, the jury selected two of their works among the nominees, Family House in Jinonice and Opatov Workshops. Atelier bod architekti will compete for victory this year with the New Town Hall in Prague 7. Last year, they won the title of Finalist CCA 2019 for the design of the Reconstruction of the Pub with Hall in Máslovice, additionally

The Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic positively evaluated the public procurement process and praised the promotion of quality construction through architectural competitions. In previous editions, the studio ellement architects was also successful, which this year received a nomination for the realization of the Cabin at Sirákov. In the very first year of the CCA, they won the title of Finalist for the Revitalization of Gahurova Prospect - the forecourt of the cultural and university center in Zlín.

International expert jury
The work of architects will be evaluated by seven knowledgeable foreign experts. At the head of the jury as chair, is landscape architect, urban planner, and academic Henri Bava (France), co-founder of the Agence Ter studio operating in Paris, Karlsruhe, Shanghai, and Los Angeles. He focuses on the integration of architecture, urbanism, and landscape architecture in diverse projects for parks, public spaces, territorial planning, and urban planning. Another juror is architect Alessandra Cianchetta (United Kingdom) practicing in her own studio based in London and Paris. The studio works on projects in architecture and urbanism, with a special interest in the regeneration of urban areas and cultural or administrative buildings. Cianchetta is also active in the academic sphere. The CCA 2020 jury further includes architect Jeanne Dekkers (Netherlands), who leads her own studio in Delft working on a wide range of projects – focusing on the design of educational facilities, residential buildings, interior design including furniture design, as well as territorial planning. Dekkers is very active in both academic and professional circles, including publishing activities. A jury member is architect and theorist Gillian Horn (United Kingdom), who is currently engaged in academic and research work and is also a main contributor to the magazine Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Until last year, she worked for 15 years in the studio Penoyre & Prasad. Another juror, architect Csaba Nagy (Hungary), works in his own studio Archikon Architects, which deals with a wide range of projects – renovations and new constructions of public, commercial, residential, and industrial buildings. He is currently a board member of the Hungarian Association of Architects. Also in the expert jury is architect Štefan Polakovič (Slovakia), co-founder of the GutGut studio, whose realizations have been awarded in Slovakia with the ARCH award, Dušan Jurkovič Award, and four times with the CE-ZA-AR Architecture Award. Polakovič is also a co-founder of the successful Bratislava festival DAAD. The seven-member jury is rounded off by architect Jeroen van Schooten (Netherlands), who works at the leading Dutch studio V Architectuur based in Amsterdam. Additionally, he is also publicly engaged within professional associations.

The nominated buildings will be presented to the public through accompanying exhibitions in the regions. The first of these will be viewable at the space of the Vysočina Region's office, from June 30 to July 17. The exhibition opening will take place on June 29 at 11:00. The traditional venue for visiting the exhibition of nominated CCA works is the Lutheran Gymnasium in Velké Meziříčí, where it will be possible to visit this year from July 22 to September 15. The vernissage will take place on July 21 at 17:00. The Czech Architecture Award will also be presented this year by the Slavonice Community House, from July 5 to October 31. The vernissage is planned for July 4 at 18:00. Information about other exhibitions is available on the CCA website.