The award for new construction in a historical environment goes to the theater in Čáslav

Prague - The Club for Old Prague Award, which highlights successful new buildings in a historic environment, was awarded to the completion of the Dusík Theatre in Čáslav by the Brno studio Burian-Křivinka. According to the award organizers, the modern architecture of the theatre's backstage and café has thoughtfully integrated itself among the historic theatre buildings and the medieval city wall.

Aleš Burian and Gustav Křivinka and their team completed the 19th-century building located in the city center, which has been renovated several times. "An important context is the medieval city wall, which is right next to it. The new building connects excellently with it, as opposed to other buildings that turn their backs to it; it faces it directly," the jury stated today. The completion expands the theatre's foyer with a new two-story glass space, and on the first floor, there is a new smaller theatre hall.

The jury was impressed not only by the cultivated architectural expression that appears simple but is quite refined, but also by the façade solution with delicate grooves, which gives the building a new touch.

Among the six nominees, the Burian-Křivinka studio was nominated once again - with the building of the Pálava Gallery of Wines Venus in Pavlov. This situation is repeating from several recent years: such examples of sensitive integration of new buildings into historically valuable environments have not appeared in Prague for quite some time, the jury noted.

"In Prague, quantity wins over quality; on the best, most lucrative, and best-located parcels, it seems that everything is done so that quality architecture cannot even be achieved," said Richard Biegel, a member of the award jury, to ČTK. According to him, money and developers’ ideas for the highest possible profit from the given location win in Prague. It is also significant that there are almost no architectural commissions initiated by public institutions in the capital.

One of those that led to a successful outcome was the competition for the National Technical Library building. "The club also rewarded that with its award," Biegel reminds us of the 2009 winner, the Projektil studio. Where there is no client, there can be no selection, let alone a quality selection, he adds. He recalls the Metropol hotel on Národní Avenue and the completion at Můstek as the most successful realizations in the historical center of Prague; however, the Euro Palace was created during a time when the club award did not exist yet.

The discouraging examples of new buildings, according to the Club for Old Prague, include Myslbek Na Příkopech, the nearby Palladium, Quadrio on Národní Avenue, or Florentinum on Poříčí. "Florentinum - that is a building whose scale belongs to a completely different city than Prague; such buildings are not at all the subject of our award," says architectural historian and jury member Rostislav Švácha.

On the other hand, all the buildings nominated this year, according to him, elevate their locations to a new qualitative level. "They bring not only interesting architecture but also serve well functionally and always provide an impetus for the cultural enhancement of their surroundings. This bonus is one of the key values that the jury of the competition has monitored from the very beginning," says Švácha.