Superstudio 2020 - results

The Prague Center for Architecture and Urban Planning CAMP hosted the final evening of the 10th anniversary architectural competition Superstudio for university students on Saturday, March 7. An international jury, which included the founders of the London studio OMMX, Miroslav Šik and Pavla Melková, decided on the best projects from across the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The first prize was awarded to a team of students from the Faculty of Arts and Architecture in Liberec, who uniquely addressed the importance and role of data in today's world.

Record Participation
A total of 137 teams of university students from the Czech Republic and Slovakia registered this year for the 10th anniversary of the Superstudio conceptual architectural competition. The students tackled a loosely interpreted brief developed by leading architects Jon Lopez and Hikaru Nissanke from the renowned studio OMMX in London. The brief titled “SKIN” focused on examining a fundamental architectural topic: the exterior façades of buildings. Students were to identify a specific building whose façade was failing in some way and propose its “second skin.” Lopez and Nissanke intentionally offered students a maximally free interpretation of the assignment. As a result, projects related to issues of ecological and social sustainability, as well as to the artistic and representative roles of façades.

The first round of the competition took place, like last year, in five cities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (in Prague, Bratislava, Brno, Ostrava, and Liberec), from which expert juries in each city selected a total of 15 best projects for the finals (2 others received wild cards from the competition organizers). Students had only 24 hours to work on the assignment – this has been the main characteristic of Superstudio since its inception 10 years ago.

Impact of the Winning Projects
The publicly accessible final evening was hosted a week later at the Prague Center for Architecture and Urban Planning CAMP, where on March 7 all the best projects from the first rounds were presented. The event began with a lecture by the authors of the brief from the studio OMMX, who also served on the final jury alongside the globally recognized Swiss architect of Czech origin Miroslav Šik and architect and theorist Pavla Melková.

The jury was particularly impressed by the project from students of the Faculty of Arts and Architecture at the Technical University in Liberec, who worked on the controversial windowless skyscraper 33 Thomas Street in Lower Manhattan, used by the American National Security Agency for data collection and analysis. According to the students, the visual and physical closure of the building from monolithic concrete causes passersby to lose interest in the structure – similar to how people do not care about what happens to their personal data, which currently represents an increasingly important “commodity.” The authors of the project aimed to raise awareness about the sensitivity of data and its accumulation, which is symbolized by water overflowing from the building. The jury appreciated both the architectural impressiveness of the proposal and the significance of the message it points to.

Current social relevance is also exhibited by other award-winning projects. Second place was awarded to students from the Faculty of Architecture at VUT Brno, who worked on panel buildings for which they designed an outer layer for yards and balconies that support the individuality and social activity of the residents. Third place also went to a team from the Brno faculty, in collaboration with Prague’s UMPRUM. Their project deals with satellite cities, for which they propose a new layer of civic amenities. The jury also awarded 2 honorable mentions.

Awarded teams shared a total of 50,000 crowns and partner prizes, with the winning team also receiving original glass trophies specially designed and produced by the Czech glass company Lasvit for the 10th anniversary of Superstudio.

List of Winning Teams
1st place: Martin Velfl, Matouš Dejmek, and Zhaidarbek Medetbek Uulu (FUA TUL Liberec)
2nd place: Klarisa Kyselková, Petr Malásek, and Ondřej Válek (FA VUT Brno)
3rd place: Pavla Nesvadbíková, Magdalena Uhlířová, Oskar Madro (FA VUT Brno, UMPRUM Prague)
Honorable Mention: Magdaléna Juřicová, Johana Krejčí, Ondřej Šašek (FA VUT Brno)
Honorable Mention: Martin Kuncl, Jiří Ullwer (FA ČVUT Prague)

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