Overview of the nominated buildings for the Rudolf Eitelberger Award

The Civic Association For Beautiful Olomouc, in an effort to support and appreciate quality endeavors in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and heritage preservation in its area of activity, announces the first year of the Rudolf Eitelberger Award, named after the prominent native of Olomouc and co-founder of art history and heritage preservation in the Austrian monarchy, Rudolf Eitelberger von Edelberg (1817—1885). This time, the award will be granted retrospectively for the entire post-November period, with assessments planned for completed buildings in subsequent years. Suggestions from the members of the Association and the broader public were evaluated by a committee composed of six members of the Association and one external expert:

• Mgr. Ondřej Belšík, National Heritage Institute, Regional Specialized Workplace Olomouc
• Michal Folta, MF Dnes Olomouc
• PhDr. Martin Horáček, Ph.D., VUT Brno / Palacký University Olomouc
• Mgr. Ondřej Jakubec, Ph.D., Museum of Art Olomouc / Masaryk University Brno
• Mgr. Martina Mertová, National Heritage Institute, Regional Specialized Workplace Olomouc
• Mgr. Jakub Potůček, Museum of Art Olomouc, external consultant
• Prof. PhDr. Rostislav Švácha, CSc., Institute of Art History AV ČR / UP in Olomouc

From the twelve nominated buildings, the winning realization will be selected by secret ballot of the committee members at the end of January 2009, and its author(s) will receive an award in the form of a glass sculpture by artist Jaroslav Koléšek.

Jaroslav Koléšek (*1974 in Šternberk) is among the most significant Czech sculptors of the younger generation. Constants in his work include dealing with the body and corporeality; the emblem of his sculptural activity has become working with remnants of tanks, cannon, grenades, aircraft, submarines, which oscillate between ironic monumentality and technopaleontology in his work. According to theorist Lukáš Beran, his works are “the fruit of an imagination that looks at artifacts of today’s civilization as future archaeological finds, thinking that sees further than just the terms of loan repayments." As a sculptor, he is versatile, working with stone, concrete, wood, plaster, glass, and plastic materials. He regularly exhibits both at home and abroad (Poland, Germany). He is the author of the memorial to the aerial battle above Šanov and the holder of the Zlín Václav Chad Award (2003). He works as an assistant professor at the Department of Sculpture at the Faculty of Arts of the Ostrava University.

Nominated Buildings (listed with authors' names in chronological order by year of completion)

• Senimo Department Store in Olomouc (Pasteurova 10)
(Petr Fabián, Jan Polách, investor Senimo a.s., 1991-93)
The reconstruction of the former city slaughterhouse represents a quality example of the use of an industrial building whose original purpose has already been abandoned. The more than one-hundred-year-old brick building with a dominant hall space serves the practical needs of residents today, thanks to the sensitive intervention of the architects. One of the first successful reconversions of a technical building in our country was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix of the Association of Architects at the time.

• Administration Building of Povodí Moravy, s.p., in Olomouc (U dětského domova 4)
(Petr Hrůša, Petr Pelčák, investor Povodí Moravy, s.p., 1994-95)
The newly constructed building in the meander of the Morava River gently contours its shape and seamlessly integrates into the broader suburban landscape. By emphasizing honest craftsmanship and the choice of building materials - quarry stone, fired bricks, and wood - the architects have drawn on older building traditions. They created an earthy, unpathetic building, whose matter-of-factness is its greatest asset.

• Restoration of the Museum of Art Olomouc Building (Denisova 47)
(Michal Sborwitz, investor Museum of Art Olomouc, 1990-2000)
A series of significant cultural initiatives after 1989 was launched by the Museum of Art in Olomouc adapting the museum building, which today visitors perceive as a historically given reality. This is thanks to a sensitive reconstruction and unobtrusive, understated new adjustments and details conceived with refined architectural taste. The architect achieved a welcoming environment through contemporary means without drawing excessive attention to them.

• Restoration of the Pilgrim’s Avenue from Samotišky to Saint Kopeček
(Ekologická dílna Brno, Petr Kučera, Irena Kučerová, Marie Krouparová, Robert Václavík, Petr Všetečka, investor Samotišky Municipal Office, Roman Catholic Parish of Saint Kopeček, City Hall of Olomouc, and District Office Olomouc, 1996-2001)
The only nomination from the field of landscape architecture. The unobtrusive cultivation of a busy pedestrian path, although resigning on a strict restoration of the condition from the 18th century in detail, still contributed to the rehabilitation of the generous concept of the pilgrim connection between the Marian basilica and the mother Premonstratensian monastery in Hradisko. The path was reinforced, a system of drainage channels was established, and greenery was restored to highlight the baroque columns with stations of the cross, previously hidden in shrubbery. The humble approach of the designers contrasts with the brutality of the planned eastern bypass, a four-lane detour around Olomouc, which, with the support of the city and regional political leadership, threatens to permanently devalue the significant baroque cultural landscape of European importance.

• Restoration of the Upper Square in Olomouc with the Arion Fountain
(Petr Hájek, Jaroslav Hlásek, Jan Šépka, Ivan Theimer, Angela Chiantelli, investor City Hall of Olomouc, 1998-2002)
With several years' perspective after the modification of the Upper Square, this implementation deserves to be labeled as successful and remarkably sensitive to the historical core of the city. The architects respected the character of the place, their timeless design did not bring radical changes to the square's appearance, its material, layout, and urban solutions; on the contrary, the historical naturalness of this part of the city was reinforced. Despite criticism directed at the unsuitability of the chosen street furniture, which can, however, be replaced at any time without significant difficulties, a substantial part of the changes, namely the repaving of surfaces, is a highly valuable implementation. The Arion fountain by Olomouc native I. Theimer, regardless of its undeniable artistic qualities, has become an “attraction” in the best sense of the word, creating a new social focal point in the city center.

• Residential Building Labutí in Šternberk (Labutí Street)
(Roman Koucký, investor City of Šternberk, 2000-03)
The high-standard residential building by a significant Prague architect is situated in a somewhat peripheral-looking part of the city. The simply conceived minimalist architecture is based on the contrast of vivid colors (window frames) and extraordinary shapes, reflected in the layout of the individual apartments of various layouts. The exterior is enriched with reliefs inspired by the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci Leda with the Swan.

• Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc (Václavské náměstí 3)
(HŠH architects (Petr Hájek, Jan Šépka, Tomáš Hradečný, 2000-06, investor Museum of Art Olomouc)
The heritage restoration of the former chapter deanery buildings for the needs of a modern museum represents a model of professional and thorough fulfillment of the chosen concept of working with a valuable historical object, both in Olomouc and in the broader European context. Contrasting contemporary elements unify the labyrinthine structure of the complicated building while creating a neutral backdrop for the rare exhibits from the Olomouc archdiocese. The reconstruction has provided Olomouc with a highly valuable public space for cultivated cultural use.

• Villa at the Silo in Olomouc (Polská 7)
(Szymon Rozwałka, Tomáš Pejpek, investor Barbora and Radim Králík, 2004-07)
In 2007, a remarkable conversion of a former grain silo into a new type of urban villa was completed in the center of Olomouc. Olomouc architects Szymon Rozwałka and Tomáš Pejpek not only fully utilized the seemingly untransformable object for a new function, but they also retained its typical industrial character. The chosen concept significantly contributed to this, where the authors embedded the living space into a new volume, the so-called box, which clings to the top of the silo tower. The minimalist architecture, which has become a new landmark of the city, has one more positive effect. At a time when residential construction is taking place far beyond the city limits, the architects demonstrated that comfortable living can be achieved without any problem within its interiors.

• Sluňákov - Center for Ecological Activities of the City of Olomouc, o.p.s. (Horka nad Moravou)
(Projektil architects, investor City Hall of Olomouc, 2005-07)
The educational center, whose mission and outstanding architecture far exceed the regional borders, is situated beyond the boundaries of the village, in the typical flat landscape of the Olomouc region. Part of the complex, centered around a building conceived as a terrain wave partially covered by a grass-covered berm, includes a restored wetland. The object, which immediately captures attention with its unconventional shape and extremely refined architecture, is equipped with sophisticated, nature-friendly energy technologies.

• Restoration of the U Zlaté štiky House in Olomouc (Ztracená 4)
(Tomáš Šantavý, Božena Svátková, investor Moravian Manufacturing a.s., 2002-08)
The house encompasses phases from late Gothic through Renaissance, Baroque, and into the 19th century. The reconstruction of one of the most significant monuments of Olomouc's urban architecture can be described as highly sensitive, applying an analytical approach and a democratic attitude towards all valuable stylistic epochs. All basic historical structures (walls, vaults, beam ceilings, galleries) and valuable details, such as slate pavements, portals, door and window fillings, and shop windows from the 19th century, were preserved and repaired. Elements that were damaged or missing were supplemented or restored accordingly. The existing use can also be considered adequate for the object of an immovable cultural monument.

• Restoration of the ground floor of the building at Pekařská Street 19 (No. 486) in Olomouc
(Pavel Svozil, investor Tomáš and Světlana Bubeník, 2008)
Tomáš and Světlana Bubeník take care of the same house as their ancestors, who established the tradition of the Glass and Frame Workshop Bubeník as far back as 1913. This is reflected in the outcome, which the commission appreciated for its sensitive adjustment of the ground floor of the house. The façade faces the street with tastefully designed and particularly craft-quality shop windows, which display a contemporary appearance indicating a possible symbiosis of old and new architecture. We appreciate the individual contribution of the small investor to the current appearance of the historical center of Olomouc.

• Restoration of the SPEA Polyclinic in Olomouc (Náměstí Národních hrdinů 2)
(R-atelier (Miroslav Pospíšil), investor SPEA Olomouc, s.r.o., 2008)
Freshly completed reconstruction of the façade of a significant monument of modern architecture, designed by Brno architect Jindřich Kumpošt in the 1920s. Despite many heritage preservation violations that trouble the professional community, a cultured restoration of the object has succeeded in presenting the building as the Olomouc residents could have seen it at the time of its creation. By nominating this work, the association wishes to emphasize the importance of preserving and sensitively approaching 20th-century monuments, whose architectural qualities often surpass contemporary production.