Competition Showcase Ten: Best Realizations from Competitions 1993-2015
The Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) announced the results of the competitive exhibition called DESET, in which buildings emerging from architectural competitions competed. A selection of two dozen of the most successful buildings was made by a jury composed of leading theorists and critics of architecture (Vendula Hnídková, Karolina Jirkalová, Rostislav Koryčánek, Osamu Okamura, Rostislav Švácha, Jana Tichá, and Petr Volf). The aim of the competitive exhibition is to draw attention to architectural competitions as a transparent method of seeking the author of project documentation and to the qualitative contribution such constructions provide to society. Works arising from architectural competitions organized between the years 1993 and 2015 were evaluated.
“We decided to showcase this exhibition of buildings designed over 23 years based on competitions sanctioned by ČKA to demonstrate that a transparent method of seeking the author of a work and the processor of project documentation leads to high-quality buildings,” says Jan Kasl, chairman of ČKA. The motivation for organizing the exhibition is the awareness that far more important than how buildings look at their opening is the way they serve their users for a long time. This not only operationally but comprehensively, as part of the overall environment improved by them. High-quality environments support and enable a quality life. "In evaluating the best realizations originating historically from public architectural competitions, we again realized that the main factor in the long-lasting quality of some buildings is not at all the time of their creation, but primarily the level of care given to the realization by a good architect," stated the chairman of the jury Osamu Okamura. Architectural competitions overseen by the Czech Chamber of Architects by law are considered the most favorable and beneficial method for clients in the long term when selecting project developers. The client receives a larger quantity of diverse design solutions from which they can select the most suitable design with the help of an expert jury. The overall advantageousness of the offer and its contribution is always assessed based on economic parameters in accordance with the quality of the proposed architectural solution. “Architectural competitions addressing well-defined tasks, whether private or public, are considered the optimal way to select the most advantageous solution to the needs of the client - the builder. Competitions take many forms, but they share the unique opportunity to select from multiple submitted solutions and also have the expert assistance of a qualified jury. The result is usually a more inspiring and sometimes completely surprising design, of course tailored to the given purpose and the economic limits of the investor,” explains Kasl.
The DESET competitive exhibition is a European and global unique event. The Czech Republic ranks among the European leaders in the organization of architectural competitions, with the goal of also securing leading positions in their number. Between 1993 and 2015, a total of 450 regular competitions were held. In the overwhelming majority, the organizers of architectural competitions were public clients, who are mandated by law to ensure transparency in the commissioning of project documentation for construction. Private investors exceptionally used regular competitions because nothing essentially compelled them to organize them. “A specific feature of Czech competitions during the monitored period was the significant dominance of open competitions, in which all authorized persons can apply. It is a maximally democratic form, where equal conditions are ensured for all. Now the trend is changing and narrower competitions are beginning to appear, in which only selected qualified teams are invited, or competitive dialogues or workshops are organized, etc.,” says Tomáš Zdvihal, who, as part of the activities in the ČKA competition working group, focuses on the statistics of architectural competitions. “For the state, we have long not found much support for competitions,” he adds. “The pressure for competitions primarily came from below, and their organization was in many cases more the merit of individuals rather than a carefully organized system. Therefore, it is not surprising that the most common public organizer was individual municipalities, which account for two-thirds of the total number,” Zdvihal points out. ČKA chairman Jan Kasl adds: “ČKA offers assistance to competition announcers in preparing competition conditions because a well-defined competition with a trustworthy jury will attract quality teams of authors. In recent years, it has been successful to convince even smaller public clients that an architectural competition is not a luxury and a complication, that the invested finances and a few months of the selection process will secure quality results and long-term benefits.”
Works awarded in the DESET competitive exhibition (the works are listed chronologically)
Period 1993–2004
State District Archive in Semily
Administrative building of the transport company of the city of Brno
Improvements to Horní náměstí in Olomouc
Building with starter apartments in Horažďovice
Kapitol House on Rašín Street in Brno
Monastic Gardens in Litomyšl
Library of the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno
Homes with care services in Horažďovice
Apartment buildings U Nemocnice in Litomyšl
Apartment building with starter apartments in Třeboň
Period 2005–2015
Archdiocesan Museum in Olomouc
National Technical Library in Prague 6–Dejvice
Study and Research Library in Hradec Králové
Memorial to the Victims of Communism
Tyrš Bridge in Přerov
Three fountains in Republic Square in Plzeň
New Building of the FA ČVUT in Prague
Community Center Máj in České Budějovice
Revitalization of the lower part of Gahurov Prospect in Zlín
Synagogue in Čkyně
“We decided to showcase this exhibition of buildings designed over 23 years based on competitions sanctioned by ČKA to demonstrate that a transparent method of seeking the author of a work and the processor of project documentation leads to high-quality buildings,” says Jan Kasl, chairman of ČKA. The motivation for organizing the exhibition is the awareness that far more important than how buildings look at their opening is the way they serve their users for a long time. This not only operationally but comprehensively, as part of the overall environment improved by them. High-quality environments support and enable a quality life. "In evaluating the best realizations originating historically from public architectural competitions, we again realized that the main factor in the long-lasting quality of some buildings is not at all the time of their creation, but primarily the level of care given to the realization by a good architect," stated the chairman of the jury Osamu Okamura. Architectural competitions overseen by the Czech Chamber of Architects by law are considered the most favorable and beneficial method for clients in the long term when selecting project developers. The client receives a larger quantity of diverse design solutions from which they can select the most suitable design with the help of an expert jury. The overall advantageousness of the offer and its contribution is always assessed based on economic parameters in accordance with the quality of the proposed architectural solution. “Architectural competitions addressing well-defined tasks, whether private or public, are considered the optimal way to select the most advantageous solution to the needs of the client - the builder. Competitions take many forms, but they share the unique opportunity to select from multiple submitted solutions and also have the expert assistance of a qualified jury. The result is usually a more inspiring and sometimes completely surprising design, of course tailored to the given purpose and the economic limits of the investor,” explains Kasl.
The DESET competitive exhibition is a European and global unique event. The Czech Republic ranks among the European leaders in the organization of architectural competitions, with the goal of also securing leading positions in their number. Between 1993 and 2015, a total of 450 regular competitions were held. In the overwhelming majority, the organizers of architectural competitions were public clients, who are mandated by law to ensure transparency in the commissioning of project documentation for construction. Private investors exceptionally used regular competitions because nothing essentially compelled them to organize them. “A specific feature of Czech competitions during the monitored period was the significant dominance of open competitions, in which all authorized persons can apply. It is a maximally democratic form, where equal conditions are ensured for all. Now the trend is changing and narrower competitions are beginning to appear, in which only selected qualified teams are invited, or competitive dialogues or workshops are organized, etc.,” says Tomáš Zdvihal, who, as part of the activities in the ČKA competition working group, focuses on the statistics of architectural competitions. “For the state, we have long not found much support for competitions,” he adds. “The pressure for competitions primarily came from below, and their organization was in many cases more the merit of individuals rather than a carefully organized system. Therefore, it is not surprising that the most common public organizer was individual municipalities, which account for two-thirds of the total number,” Zdvihal points out. ČKA chairman Jan Kasl adds: “ČKA offers assistance to competition announcers in preparing competition conditions because a well-defined competition with a trustworthy jury will attract quality teams of authors. In recent years, it has been successful to convince even smaller public clients that an architectural competition is not a luxury and a complication, that the invested finances and a few months of the selection process will secure quality results and long-term benefits.”
Works awarded in the DESET competitive exhibition (the works are listed chronologically)
Period 1993–2004
State District Archive in Semily
Administrative building of the transport company of the city of Brno
Improvements to Horní náměstí in Olomouc
Building with starter apartments in Horažďovice
Kapitol House on Rašín Street in Brno
Monastic Gardens in Litomyšl
Library of the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno
Homes with care services in Horažďovice
Apartment buildings U Nemocnice in Litomyšl
Apartment building with starter apartments in Třeboň
Period 2005–2015
Archdiocesan Museum in Olomouc
National Technical Library in Prague 6–Dejvice
Study and Research Library in Hradec Králové
Memorial to the Victims of Communism
Tyrš Bridge in Přerov
Three fountains in Republic Square in Plzeň
New Building of the FA ČVUT in Prague
Community Center Máj in České Budějovice
Revitalization of the lower part of Gahurov Prospect in Zlín
Synagogue in Čkyně
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