Kaplicky Internship - competition for students / internship in the Zaha Hadid studio

Ondřej Michálek, winner of the 1st year of the Kaplicky Internship at Eva Jiricna Architects; source Bakala Foundation

The world's most famous architect, Zaha Hadid, passed away in the United States on Thursday, March 31. Czech architecture students have the opportunity to win a prestigious internship at her London studio.

Prague, March 31, 2016: The sad news of Zaha Hadid's death spread around the world just as the second year of the Kaplicky Internship architectural competition was announced. The winner of the competition, aimed at students in their final years of architectural study at Czech universities, will receive a three-month internship at Zaha Hadid Architects, one of the most prestigious architectural firms in the world. The studio was founded by the renowned British architect of Iraqi origin, Zaha Hadid, who was the first woman in the world to receive the most significant award for a living architect - the Pritzker Prize. Time magazine ranked her among the 100 most influential people in the world.
“Working for Zaha Hadid Architects is a dream for every aspiring architect,” comments Václav Pecha, director of the Bakala Foundation, on the collaboration with the London studio, adding: “The news of her sudden death has affected us profoundly. Participation in the architectural competition now carries a deep symbolic dimension for every student.”

The winner of the first year, Ondřej Michálek, is returning these days from a three-month internship at Eva Jiricna Architects in London. Michálek won the first year's competition with a work inspired by the growth of mycelium and other living organisms, using it to create a fundamental set of rules. He subsequently examined the territorial implications of applying these rules at a specific moment and location as a “growth pavilion.”  

Competition entries in the form of conceptual studies can be submitted until the end of June. The theme is not fixed, so participants are not bound by its selection. The competition is announced as non-anonymous and in two rounds. The winner will be announced in mid-September. The program is organized by the Bakala Foundation in collaboration with Design Museum London. The project partner is the Kaplicky Centre Foundation.

For more information about the competition CLICK HERE

Marie Wichterlová, email: [email protected]