8th Annual Showcase of Diploma Theses 2007

Prague - The diploma works of 52 young architects who graduated from some of the Czech architectural schools this year will be presented at an exhibition at the headquarters of the Czech Chamber of Architects on Josefská Street in Malá Strana, Prague. The winner was Milena Kubiszová, a graduate of the Academy of Art's School of Architecture in Prague. The exhibition will run from November 1 to December 1.
    At the same time, the results of the competition can be viewed at the website www.diplomy.cz, which also features all awarded works from previous years' exhibitions. After the Prague exhibition, the showcase will travel to all participating schools in the first half of 2008.
    This year, the Czech Chamber of Architects has announced the Exhibition of Diploma Works of graduates from schools and faculties of architecture for the eighth time. The aim is to compare the quality of education, thereby increasing the standards of architectural education.
    This year's edition saw 52 graduates apply, of which 36 were from the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The jury was particularly impressed by the design of Milena Kubiszová, a graduate of the School of Architecture of Emil Přikryl at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, titled Ideal Těšín. She received a reward of 25,000 crowns for it. According to the jury, the author correctly based her solution on the phenomenon of the river as the strongest connecting urban element.
    "It is appropriate to perceive both cities today as parts of a higher whole. The proposed figure suggests that a quality, fully-fledged, friendly and habitable environment can gradually emerge, which can be modified according to the development of local circumstances," stated the jury.
    The second prize and 15,000 crowns were awarded to Natália Čtvrtníčková, a graduate of Roman Koucký's studio at the Faculty of Architecture at CTU, for her design of a high-rise building for the Pankrác plain in Prague. The jury appreciated the simple structure in the shape of a prism, its good proportional division, and the design of functional use.
    The third prize and a reward of 10,000 crowns went to Aleš Pokorný, a student of Martina Rajniš at the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University in Liberec. His work is titled Island - Foundation Complex in the Venetian Lagoon. The jury commended the clean and artistically convincing, easily memorable composition referring to examples from the history of fine arts. The jury positively noted the author's conceptual affinity with the work of the thesis leader.