In the 6th year of the Czech Architecture Award, 170 works were submitted

The title in this year's, already the 6th edition of the Czech Architecture Award (ČCA), is contended by 170 works. The international expert jury will select a narrower range of nominees from them, which will be announced at the nomination evening on June 24. The highest awards, namely the ČCA Finalists and the holder of the ČCA Main Prize, will then be announced at the festive gala evening on November 11. An Award for Exceptional Achievement, selected by the Academy and the ČCA Council, and Partner Awards will also be granted.

In this year's competitive showcase organized by the Czech Chamber of Architects, works realized in the territory of the Czech Republic in the last five years, from 2016 to 2020, could be submitted. More than half of the realizations (96) were completed last year, while more than four-fifths were completed in the last two years (146). New buildings, as in previous years, prevail over renovations and account for three-fifths of the submitted projects (102). It is confirmed again this year that an important topic of construction in the Czech Republic is housing. Family and apartment houses, residential complexes, cottages, and chalets make up two-fifths of the submitted works (70). The catalog of all submitted realizations is freely accessible on the website of the competitive showcase.

Private investments prevail, with some public ones resulting from competitions
Two-thirds of the projects (113) are backed by private investors. Among public contracts, five buildings submitted in this year's showcase came from architectural competitions with confirmation of legitimacy from the Czech Chamber of Architects. These include the University Building of J. E. Purkyně, Ústí nad Labem / Pelčák and partners architects (competition in 2015), the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University – reconstruction of the canteen, 17. November Dormitory / Kuba & Pilař architects (competition in 2015), the Municipal Hall of Modřice / Atelier bod architects (competition in 2015), Nádražní – City Boulevard Žďár nad Sázavou / Grimm architects (competition in 2017), and the Revitalization of the Historical Core of the Village of Tetín / Mackovič architecture (competition in 2015).

A third of works realized in Prague
Nearly a third of the submitted realizations were created in Prague (54), and if we add those built in Brno (15), it accounts for two-fifths of all participating buildings. Among the regions, the counties adjacent to the two largest cities – Central Bohemian (15) and South Moravian (without Brno 11) also lead in the number of submitted works.

Realization takes an average of three to four years
An interesting data point in each year of the showcase is the average duration of construction realization (from project to completion), which for this year's competing buildings is 3 to 4 years, which is a bit longer than in previous years.

Sustainability
This year, the organizer began monitoring the aspect of sustainability in the competing realizations. Three-fifths of authors (103) provided data, with a third of the submitted works (59) labeled as sustainable buildings. Most authors evaluated the sustainability of the building from the perspective of energy savings, primarily ensured by the building's orientation to the cardinal directions, minimizing heat losses – through compact building envelopes and their insulation (possibly partially covered with soil), the use of renewable energy sources (e.g., for heating: solar energy – photovoltaic panels, solar collectors + geothermal energy - heat pumps; storage in batteries), minimizing artificial lighting, and maximizing the use of daylight; installing controlled ventilation with recovery and supporting natural air circulation. Measures of blue-green infrastructure are being monitored, and many emphasize the life cycle of the building – including the construction process, where they prefer reconstruction/conversion/revitalization of existing buildings to demolition, utilize recycled and recyclable materials, environmentally friendly building materials, strive to minimize construction waste or use local materials and resources, etc. Many aim to minimize the appropriation of fertile agricultural land or forests.

International expert jury
The work of architects will be evaluated by seven knowledgeable foreign experts led by chair Yasha Jacob Grobman (Israel), an architect currently active in the academic field, specializing in the potential of digital modeling in the design process and sustainability in architecture. Another juror is landscape architect and urban planner Bart Brands (Netherlands), who has executed numerous public spaces including university campuses and their parts. Mexican architect and urban planner Eduardo Cadaval (Mexico/Spain) has a second base in Barcelona and is behind dozens of projects realized in the United States, Spain, and Mexico, while also being active in academia. Irakli Eristavi (Slovakia) is an architect whose realizations have received numerous awards. For instance, the project for the renovation of the Košice barracks at Kulturpark won the CEZAAR, ARCH, and Dušan Jurkovič Prize in 2014. The CEZAAR Award was also given to Náměstí Centrum in Prešov in 2018. Another juror is architect, urban planner, and landscape architect, as well as a theorist and critic Antonio Longo (Italy), who focuses on public spaces and parks in his work, urban landscape, urbanism, and strategic planning. Architect Balázs Marián (Hungary) practices in his own studio in Budapest and is also active in academia. In 2019, he received the highest Hungarian professional award, the Miklós Ybla Prize. The jury also includes landscape architect Peter Veenstra (Netherlands), who leads several international projects, not only at home but also in China. He collaborates on competition designs and is engaged in research on design, serving as a lecturer and advisor in urban planning. In his design work, he strives to implement innovative ideas into easily realizable projects.

Works submitted by architects themselves as well as nominated by experts
Authors could submit their works to the competition themselves, or their nominations could be initiated by members of the Academy of the Czech Architecture Prize. Works submitted in previous years could also compete, except for those that made it to the narrower circle of nominees. A more detailed introduction to individual projects will be provided in the catalog of nominated projects and subsequent exhibitions in the regions.

All submitted buildings and their photographs can be found on the website of the Czech Architecture Award.