Results of the competition for the design solution of Peace Square in Dobříš

The competition for the proposal to revitalize the Dobříš square has its winner! On Friday, December 14, 2007, the meeting of the judging panel for the second round of the competition on the design solutions for Mírové náměstí and the surrounding area took place. The competition was organized in collaboration with the Czech Chamber of Architects, and the level of this competition was high and quality. The expert jury consisted of renowned figures in the field of architecture and other authorities: Ing. arch. Josef Pleskot (chairman of the jury), Ing. arch. Ladislav Lábus, Ing. arch. Ján Štempel, and JUDr. PhDr. Jiří Plos. Other members included: Mgr. Jaroslav Melša (mayor of Dobříš), Mgr. Stanislav Vacek (deputy mayor), and Ing. Pavel Krejcárek (caretaker of the Dobříš castle).
The inaugural meeting of the jury was held on June 19, 2007. The competition was announced on June 28, 2007, through the Information system for public procurement, a nationwide media outlet, namely MF DNES, the website of the town of Dobříš, and the internet pages of the Czech Chamber of Architects.
The competition was announced as a public urban-architectural two-round competition; in the first round as an ideational competition, and in the second round, as a design competition. The content of the first round was urban, architectural, and spatial-functional design solutions. The first round of the competition was anonymous and allowed participation not only from renowned architects but also from students or architects without the relevant authorization, provided they could secure qualified representation in case of advancement. This ensured Dobříš had better chances for the creation of quality and diverse proposals. The first round concluded on October 5, 2007, after which the jury selected three proposals that advanced to the second round. Participants whose proposals advanced to the second round and were accepted by the jury for proper evaluation were entitled to a uniform reward of 70,000 CZK according to the competition conditions. The jury further stated that all competition teams would be financially rewarded, as they dedicated significant effort to solving the urban issues of the city. Under the conditions set forth in § 10 paragraph 7 and 8 and in § 12 paragraph 2 of the competition regulations of the Czech Chamber of Architects, the jury proposed a reward of 20,000 CZK for proposals that did not advance to the second round. The rewards in the second round are as follows: 1st place: 150,000 CZK, 2nd place: 100,000 CZK, and 3rd place: 60,000 CZK, with the stipulation that the prize need not be paid if a contract for the preparation of project documentation for the subject contract is concluded between the competition organizer and the author/authors of the awarded proposal within the payment deadline, including the initial phases.
In the second round, it was about further developing the competition proposals into more detailed urban, architectural, and technical solutions. Participants whose proposals advanced were invited to participate in the second round and received clarified conditions. No competition proposals were made public between the two rounds. The meeting of the judging panel in the second round of the competition took place on December 14, 2007, starting at 9:00 AM. After evaluating the proposals duly submitted in the second round and establishing a preliminary ranking of these proposals, the authors were invited at 1:30 PM to personally present their proposals and answer questions regarding the proposed solutions. This presentation preceded the final announcement of the competition results and members of the construction commission, representatives of the Building Authority, and members of the City Council were invited to it. Each team had approximately 45 minutes to present their proposal and engage in discussion. During the personal presentation of the proposals, the architects present raised questions at the request of the chairman of the jury and entered into discussion with the competitors. However, they did not participate in the evaluation of the proposals. After 4:00 PM, the presentations were concluded, all participants were thanked, and the judging panel met to determine the ranking of the proposals through secret voting and thus announce the final results of the competition.
The jury evaluated the competition proposals according to the criteria set forth in the competition conditions, with particular regard to whether the comprehensive urban concept respects all existing functions in this space and achieves their maximum/optimal harmonization and organization, especially the alignment of residential functions with transportation.
The final decision of the judging panel is as follows: in first place is the team FAM ARCHITEKTI, s.r.o. (Ing. arch. MgA. Jan Horký, Ing. arch. MgA. Pavel Nasadil, Ing. arch. Tomáš Straka), second place was taken by the group of young students A1architects (Jakub Filip Novák, David Maštálka, Lenka Křemenová) and third place was occupied by the proposal by MgA. Bronislav Stratila and Ing. arch. Olga Tausingerová.
From the discussion of the proposals and the determination of the ranking, it was evident that the first two proposals were the strongest and had almost equal chances of winning. This is why the meeting of the city council, which was to deliver the final decision on which proposal would be implemented in Dobříš, was awaited with tension. The conditions specify that the council does not have to choose the winning design selected by the jury for implementation but may select one of the awarded proposals. Before the decisive meeting of the City Council, on Wednesday, December 19, 2007, at 4:00 PM, an exhibition of all competition proposals was opened in the cultural center. A large number of people visited the exhibition, and the mayor of Dobříš introduced it with several main points from the history of Dobříš square and thanked all the architects who participated in the competition. The architects of the three proposals that advanced to the second round were introduced by the mayor and thanked for their significant contribution to the architectural-urban competition. The vernissage was very pleasant, with candles burning in the middle of the room, and the atmosphere was complemented by the tones of the piano. The course of the vernissage can be viewed on the regional television www.regiotv.cz in the municipal policy section.
At 6:00 PM, the City Council of Dobříš convened, with a key part of its agenda addressing the ranking of the three winning proposals. An extensive discussion about the proposals was expected. However, the councilors respected the competition jury and agreed to the ranking established by the jury without any significant discussion. Thus, the Dobříš City Council approved a project that could influence this city for centuries to come. The smooth course of the competition, the support from architects, the quality of the submitted proposals, and the cooperation of the council regardless of political views indicate the level, quality, and readiness of the entire competition. Thanks are due to the citizens of Dobříš, who participated unexpectedly in establishing the principles for the functioning of the new square, the Czech Chamber of Architects, the jurors, the members of the Dobříš City Council, and other organizers of the competition.

> You can find the awarded proposals on the website www.mestodobris.cz
> Video recording from the exhibition of the competition proposals


FAM ARCHITEKTI, s.r.o. – winning proposal
A very high-quality, cohesive, and clear proposal, based on traditional concepts but with a modern conception of a multi-layered and multifunctional public space. The proposal achieves calming of the space, a readable demarcation of the area for pedestrians, quiet communication between the square and the castle; the transportation routing is rather conservative but very high quality and achieves an even distribution or even a diffusion of traffic in the space, while transportation routes remain visually and functionally preserved – given the proposed urban parameters of transportation, collaboration with a very good traffic urbanist can be expected. The area of the square is conceived as a cohesive space; parking is moved to peripheral, yet not insignificant places – connecting parking with pedestrians. The proposal does not emphasize the space in front of the town hall but intensifies the natural center, which serves as a meeting place. The proposal supports the original alleys and suitably elaborates on details – for instance, the statue of St. Sebastian is very sensitively and appropriately positioned. It is the least controversial from the public’s perspective; on the contrary, it emphasizes local specifics. The proposal can be criticized for the inappropriate low placement of tree canopies, which is not very suitable for this square. The proposal has a high graphical level of presentation, is clear, and provides a substantial amount of information quickly. The authors confirmed the priority of the proposal, which appears very cultivated and offers numerous further uses for the space.