7th Year of the Thesis Exhibition 2006

Prague - The diploma works of 64 young architects who graduated from various Czech architectural schools this year are presented in an exhibition at the headquarters of the Czech Chamber of Architects on Josefská Street in Mala Strana, Prague. For the first time in the history of the exhibition, the winner has been Veronika Bartošová, a graduate of the Technical University in Liberec. The exhibition will run until December 1.
    All awarded designs can also be viewed at the website www.diplomy.cz, which also features awarded works from previous years of the exhibitions.
    The Czech Chamber of Architects announced the Diploma Work Exhibition for graduates of architectural schools and faculties for the seventh time this year. The aim is to compare the level of teaching quality, which the chamber strives to elevate the standards of architectural education.
    In this year's edition, the jury assessed the works of a record number of 64 graduates, of which 39 were from the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The number of participants from the other six schools ranged from one to nine.
    Bartošová won with her design for The Roosevelt Island Universal Art Center, which she created under the guidance of Josef Suchomel and for which she received a reward of 25,000 crowns. The jury appreciated the pure architectural form that effectively expresses the basic idea of the concept. According to them, the author sensitively evaluated the potential of the exceptional site and used materials very well. The jury also assesses the plausibility of the project's economic demands.
    The second prize went to Michal Šiška from the Faculty of Architecture at Czech Technical University in Prague for his project Social Housing (not only) for Roma in Kutná Hora. According to the jury, the design attempts to "capture the requirements for specific conditions of social housing for Roma." It also reacts well to the genii loci of the historical city. The second place is awarded a reward of 15,000 crowns and the third place 10,000 crowns.
    Third was Tomáš Petrášek, also from the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University, with his design Sunday Landscape - two plans for the Novohrad landscape. According to the jury, the author successfully connected with the history of the South Bohemian landscape. "Using modern expressive means, he convincingly completes the cultural environment; the bold approach to the topic of monuments in the landscape is very valuable," said the jury. Petrášek proposes, for example, striking yet simple new bridges or glazed parts of a dam.
    The judges also awarded three additional prizes sponsored by manufacturers of technology used by architects. One of them went to Petr Horák from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague for his design of the Institute of Ladislav Klíma, which he placed in a small gap in Prague Na Perštýně. The jury appreciated the placement in one of the difficult-to-fill gaps and highly valued the originality and artistic solution of the design. A significant part of the view of the narrow house consists of a staircase symbolizing Klíma's journey into homelessness.
    After the Prague exhibition, the exhibition will travel to individual architectural faculties until April next year.