The winner of the Diploma Thesis Exhibition 2019 is Matěj Šebek from CTU

The theater projects in Jindřichův Hradec and České Budějovice, the original placement solution for the National Library in Prague, minor interventions in the Libavská landscape, reflections on the issue of shrinking cities exemplified by Děčín, or the proposal for a virtual reality space extending beyond the field of architecture – these were the topics of the diploma theses of the finalists of the 20th edition of the Diploma Thesis Exhibition. This event is held annually by the Czech Chamber of Architects with the intention of comparing the quality of studies at universities of architecture and related fields. This year, 78 graduates entered the competition. The winner was Matěj Šebek with the design of the New Theater for Jindřichův Hradec defended at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague. His work was supervised by Tomáš Novotný, Tomáš Zmek, and Jakub Koňata.

The work was evaluated by a professional jury led by chairman David Mateásko. Other members included architects David Jiránek, Eva Kováříková, and Jan Mléčka and art historian and theorist Martina Mertová. The jurors assessed primarily the architectural quality of the submitted works. “The jurors appreciated the wide range of both the assignments and the responses in the form of presented works,” said jury chairman David Mateásko in the final report and added: “This indicates that the concept of architecture, as shaped by Czech architectural schools, is a field with open boundaries and often remarkable overlaps.”
Regarding the themes, the jury noted that “the students' works intersected tasks from the fields of urbanism, design, and reconstruction of buildings, landscape creation, as well as conceptual approaches or virtual reality, while also resonating with themes of ecology or recycling.” Especially for the works that advanced to the final round of evaluation, the jurors agreed that “it was a pleasure to study them in detail.” On the other hand, they mentioned that a large number of works failed to pass the first and second stages of evaluation due to the absence of some steps that are essential in the creative architectural process. “Analysis of the situation, narrowing down to the essential, justification of one's decisions, ability to summarize, all these are phases of the project that may have accompanied the resulting solutions, but if they are missing in the final presentation, the student automatically deprives themselves of the opportunity to advance to the finals,” the jurors warned.

The first prize was awarded to the graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague Matěj Šebek for the project New Theater for Jindřichův Hradec. Under the guidance of Tomáš Novotný, Tomáš Zmek, and Jakub Koňata, he designed a new municipal theater in the degraded garden of the former Franciscan monastery in Jindřichův Hradec. The author stated that his endeavor was to “moderate the contact with the monastery and activate its garden.” The jury evaluated that the design of the new theater for Jindřichův Hradec “represents a cultivated, sensitively handled task with a sense of genius loci and very creatively managed challenges.” They praised “the author's ability to consider architecture from the perspective of the purpose of such a building, namely from the perspective of the experience of visiting a theater building and the theatrical experience that should bring emotional, sentimental, and intellectual enrichment to human life. The thoughtful architectural and theatrical script of this proposal is capable of initiating such experiences.” Matěj Šebek earned the top award for “cultivated graphic processing and presentation, thoughtful architectural and theatrical script, and inspiring work with the genius loci of the garden.”
→ The winning project received a financial prize of 25,000 CZK.

The second prize was awarded to Lenka Levíčková for the work National Library, developed under the supervision of Michal Kuzemenský at the Faculty of Architecture of CTU Prague. According to the jury, the author responded to the heated debates about the form and ideal placement of the National Library “with an original solution of fictitious recycling of the existing urban unit,” proposing the reconstruction of the existing Hilton hotel. The jurors appreciated that “the author perceives that contemporary Prague needs to be recoded and boldly changes the function of one building in order to 'mobilize and cleanse' its surroundings. The project is thus a valuable contribution to discussions about the future of Prague's embankments and the meaningfulness and placement of new public buildings.”
→ The awarded project received a financial prize of 15,000 CZK.

The third position was awarded by the jury to the graduate of the AAAD in Prague Marie Štefanová for the project Atlas of Emptiness. Under the guidance of Roman Brychta, she designed a guide to the empty landscapes of Libavsko. The jury characterized the work as “about two hundred and forty locations of empty landscape around Libavsko strung along a thin red line.”
→ The awarded project received a financial prize of 10,000 CZK.

The jury also granted a honorable mention to Adam Novotník, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of CTU Prague for the work Virtual Academy supervised by Miloš Florián and Lukáš Kurilla. The jury was intrigued by the choice of subject matter, which addresses the design of a virtual reality space extending beyond the field of architecture. In the work, the graduate proposes and subsequently virtually presents a space with inserted mnemonic devices in an effort to determine whether the space he created leads to a greater ability for a person to remember specific stimuli. The jury awarded the recognition for “interest and ability to push the boundaries of thinking in the ever-evolving field of virtual reality.”

A special prize from the Czech Centres was awarded by the jury to Matěj Čunát from the Faculty of Arts and Architecture of the Technical University in Liberec. His diploma thesis Děčín 2070 - Vision for a Shrinking City addressed the current topic of urban development and its sustainability. According to the jury, the author, under the guidance of Jiří Klokočka, “seeks to articulate the issues of the city of Děčín, create certain themes, and propose specific measures within the horizon of several years or decades.”
→ The awarded project received a week-long internship at one of the European Czech Centres.

A special prize from Cegra was awarded to Andrea Šetinová for the work Spring Colonnade Karlovy Vary. The graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of CTU Prague from Boris Redčenkov's studio developed a cultivated design that “sensitively complements the existing urban structure of the buildings in the central part of the spa town of Karlovy Vary.”
→ The awarded project received a license for the use of ArchiCAD software.

A special prize from Heluz was awarded to Andrea Pernicová for the project Karlín Corner - Urban Rental House. The jury praised the graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of CTU Prague, guided by Michal Kuzemenský, for “a solution that brings forth the theme of adequacy of work in the given space, the ability to respectfully face existing objects surrounding the gap, and the necessary perception of the building as part of a larger whole of the city block.”
→ The awarded project received a trip to Vienna for the Bauen & Energie trade fair.

A special prize from Zumtobel was awarded to Miroslav Chmel for the work Theater of Music. The graduate of the AAAD in Prague from Jan Šépka's studio designed a new theater building in České Budějovice. According to the jury, the author “builds the concept of the new theater building and its final mass on the contrast of two basic principles. While the common platform and ground floor of the building are clearly shaped by the urban structure of the city, the volume of the theater halls creates a distinctive artistic element embodying the operations of the theater.”
→ The awarded project received a tour of the Zumtobel Group headquarters in Dornbirn, including a visit to the production facility and showroom.

Who comes out best from the nationwide comparison?
Nationwide comparisons are an important tool for assessing the level of graduates and provide feedback to individual schools. Of course, it is necessary to consider how representative the “sample” – the participants of the exhibition, is. Among the awardees (and in terms of numbers, so too the participants), Prague schools once again dominated – the Faculty of Architecture of CTU Prague and the AAAD in Prague. The only exception was the work of a graduate from the Faculty of Arts and Architecture of the Technical University in Liberec. Compared to previous years, there was a lack of representation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague among the finalists. However, this year the jury also pointed out the issue of “banal assignments, weak concept resolutions, and unsatisfactory final outputs of some submitted works,” which reduces the level of the competition “from the perspective of ‘the exhibition of the best’ from Czech architectural schools.” The diploma thesis exhibition can also indicate the quality of specific studios – this year too, graduates from the same studios as in previous years visibly succeeded.

“DIPLOMAS” 2019 in numbers
11 universities, faculties, or departments (40 students from the FA CTU Prague, 11 from the FS CTU Prague, 8 from UMPRUM Prague, 4 from AVU Prague, 4 from FAST VUT Brno, 3 from FA VUT Brno, 2 from FUA TU Liberec, 2 from VŠB-TU Ostrava, 2 from FAPPZ CZU Prague, 1 from ARCHIP Prague and 1 from ZF MENDELU Brno).
78 graduates, 5 jurors, 8 awardees, prizes totaling 50,000 CZK, and 4 valuable partner awards.

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