Architects are applying for the Grand Prix and the new Chamber competition

Prague - In the competition for the best completed buildings of the Grand Prix of Architects, 15 authors have submitted applications so far, and about 30 more are preparing theirs. "I expect there will be 80 to 90 applications. And this is despite the fact that the new award is prepared by the Czech Chamber of Architects," said the chairman of the Association of Architects, Miloš Parma, to journalists today. The traditional award organized by the association has a deadline of April 1, and the announcement of the winners will take place on May 12. The relationship between the voluntary association of architects and the chamber that grants architects' authorizations has long been tense.

The annual architecture award has been granted by the Association of Architects since 1993. Recently, however, it has faced criticism, especially from young architects. According to them, the association does not fulfill its mission and the prestige of its activities, including the Grand Prix of Architects competition and exhibition, is declining.

The Grand Prix, which is meant to showcase the best contemporary architecture in the Czech Republic and make it accessible to as wide an audience as possible, is increasingly seen by critics as a local event with minimal impact on the general public.

However, Parma defends the association by stating that it operates solely on membership fees, sponsorship donations, and grants. This year, according to him, the competition did not receive a grant from either Prague or the Ministry of Culture. He points out that the Czech Chamber of Architects operates on an annual budget of approximately 24 million crowns, while the association has a budget in the tens of thousands. A few years ago, the association, the chamber, and the National Gallery collectively initiated the competition, but after a change in the chamber's leadership, Parma claims the two architectural entities are no longer able to reach an agreement.

According to him, the association is an organization that tries to produce and organize, but architects are not signing up. "The Association of Architects is dying out; today it has about 450 members," says Parma. The chamber has 4,000 members, authorized architects who pay an annual fee of 6,000 crowns.

According to him, Czech schools produce about 800 new architects each year. "That is a staggering number relative to the population; a person needs an architect once or twice in their lifetime. Architects then have nothing to do, and the quality of architecture is going down the drain," thinks the head of the association. Architects, for practical reasons, register with the chamber, which performs delegated authority of the state administration, but they only use the Grand Prix for the competition itself. "When they win, they boast about it, but they do not want to contribute to the association's activities," Parma complains.

The chamber's new competition does not want to separate itself from the Grand Prix but mentions that everyone can register for the new competition without paying an entry fee. "That is nonsense because they are using the money that all of us provide. It is normal for the individual to pay for their panel," says Parma.

Last year, 88 projects were submitted to the Grand Prix. When asked about the number of applications for the Czech Award for Architecture from the chamber, which has slightly different conditions than the Grand Prix, the chamber's spokesperson did not provide an answer today. Authors can submit their realized works to it until mid-April.