The ABF Foundation and other entities awarded the Construction of the Year prizes

Prague, October 11 (ČTK) - Among the five buildings that received the Building of the Year 2007 award are the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Prague, Archdiocesan Museum in Olomouc, new headquarters of ČSOB in Prague, a footbridge for cyclists over the Vltava River in České Budějovice on Přemysla Pitera Street, and the terminal at Brno Airport. This year, the jury selected the best five buildings for the fifteenth time, and the results were announced for the first time as part of the Day of Construction and Architecture.
    The Building of the Year competition is traditionally organized by the ABF Foundation, the Union of Entrepreneurs in Construction, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Builder magazine of Economia.
    The jury highlighted aspects such as architecturally sensitive reconstruction of a disparate group of historical buildings, the connection of history and modernity, or the unconventional approach to the design of an administrative building in the winning projects.
    The Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic award was given to the authors of the reconstruction of several houses in Liberec for their contribution to public interest. The reconstruction of the Music Theatre in Karlín received the award from the Mayor of Prague as it contributes, among other things, to the revitalization of Karlín. The State Fund for Housing Development recognized the regeneration and new extensions of several residential buildings in Prague 3.
     The organizers of the competition aim to inform the public about the issues of construction and to stimulate interest among professionals, students, and apprentices in this sector. The competition is announced without category distinction. Among the nominees are banks, theaters, residential buildings, metro stations, highway sections, bridges, and family houses. A portion of the registered buildings also consist of modernizations, extensions, and reconstructions.
    Each year, buildings completed by the end of May of the given year compete. Applications can be submitted by the contractor, the project author, or the investor.
    The organizers of the competition already handed out additional awards a month ago. The award from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for a building financed from the state budget went to a highway bridge in the Ore Mountains that spans the border with Germany. The Union of Entrepreneurs in Construction selected the best development project and awarded the conversion of the administrative building Sportturist into Hotel Metropol.
    The ABF Foundation award was given for the construction of a new facility for the production of medical materials by Arrow in Žďár nad Sázavou, while the Economia publishing house awarded the new Bang & Olufsen plant in Kopřivnice with its original entrance portal.
    Over the 15 years of the competition, the jury has evaluated approximately 750 buildings. Last year, for instance, the jury recognized the reconstruction of the city hall in Semily, the construction of a multifunctional hall, and the extension of the Municipal Stadium in Liberec, as well as the construction of a leisure center and reconstruction of the Ladronka estate.