The Heritage Institute has selected a new winner of the competition for the restoration of Bečov

Prague - The National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) has re-evaluated the competition for the restoration of the Bečov nad Teplou castle and selected the Girsa At studio as its winner, which was initially ranked second. This was announced today by NPÚ spokesperson Dita Roubíčková. One of the participants raised objections against the competition results, pointing to allegedly incorrect calculations in the winning project. The jury therefore reassessed the competition entries.
    The architectural competition is part of the project Bečov nad Teplou - exemplary restoration of the castle and adjacent buildings for the presentation of heritage care through educational programs. Its goals are not only exemplary restoration and accessibility of the castle but also its actual implementation. Castles and chateaux under the administration of NPÚ are, according to heritage professionals, ideal model workplaces where professional procedures and processes can be experimentally verified.
    The significant heritage site under state administration is being restored over a long term, with the competition focusing on the overall solution for the rescue and use of the previously inaccessible part of the upper castle area. Sixteen proposals were submitted for the competition, six of which were disqualified by the jury for violating conditions, and in December, the MCA atelier project was selected as the winning proposal.
    "After a detailed review of the objections, the contracting authority concluded that some items in the cost calculation of the winning proposal were likely not included in the final value of the implementation costs, which could ultimately represent a non-compliance with the maximum allowable value of the implementation costs," stated NPÚ today. To ascertain the necessary costs of the project, NPÚ re-evaluated the competition proposals; six originally disqualified ones remained disqualified. MCA atelier was excluded from further participation in the competition due to exceeding the maximum allowable amount of implementation costs, the spokesperson noted. The authors of the other projects clarified the ambiguities sufficiently, according to the spokesperson.
    According to NPÚ, the previous evaluation of the proposals was of high quality and well-justified; the jury decided to advance the proposal that was initially ranked second to first place, and the proposal that ranked third to second place. Third place was not awarded.
    The rescue and restoration of Bečov castle and chateau is expected to be completed in 2015 with the accessibility of the entire area. The plan includes, among other things, the reconstruction of the Pluhovské houses in the upper castle area. Following the completion of repairs, the extended exhibition of the relics of Saint Maurus will move there. Bečov castle, from the first half of the 14th century, is a unique example of historical architecture - it has not been reconstructed during the Renaissance or Baroque periods as was customary, and has remained almost in its original form.