<Message from the jury recommending student projects for the exhibition at GJF>

Out of a total of 15 submitted works, the jury selected 7 projects focusing on the conversion of existing industrial areas. We perceive this topic as very relevant and believe that comparing the selected proposals with exhibited realized works will be beneficial for the exhibition visitors.

Specifically, the following projects were recommended for exhibition:

A pair of libraries for the Vítkovice Ironworks by V. Hybler and D. Dvořák from the Mirko Baum Atelier (RWTH Aachen) - in both cases, this involves a conversion with a strong new figure, literally relying on the strong history of the site. The constructive, sensitive, and non-destructive addition enriches the area, in one case with an allusion to a conveyor and in the other with a strong interior space.

The opposite approach to the same topic is a pair of projects from the studio of Jan Šépka from the Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague - the first of them (M. Fišerová, E. Skleníčková, M. Gaberle, M. Veselský) offers a way to gradually transform the area into a lively part of the city through detailed analysis and partial interventions, while the second (M. Ralbovská, B. Simajchlová, P. Uchal, J. Žoha) seeks a way to connect the city and the ironworks area, two worlds today completely separated by vast communication. We appreciated the strong concept based on the thoughtful positioning of 4 buildings - bridges, referred to as seams.

Another pair of projects consists of smaller conversions of minor areas - these are examples applicable to the frequent urban situation of many Czech and Moravian towns - the issue of an abandoned factory located in the center of the settlement. The first is the search for new uses for the Perla textile factory area in Ústí nad Orlicí by A. Vojkůvka from Jiří Suchomel's atelier at the Faculty of Technology in Liberec. The author sensitively utilizes typical industrial buildings and their environment. The second example is a diploma project by Petr Vojáček from Jan Aulík's atelier at the Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague, dealing with the conversion of the Braník brewery. The new use of the building as a spa and wellness center with a hotel is an example of an inventive insertion of such a function that allows the area to be preserved while transforming the characteristic limitations of the original industrial building into its new qualities.

From the range of conversion projects for the Kladno industrial zone, the jury selected a project for the revitalization of the post-industrial space by O. Semotán from the Horticulture Faculty in Lednice (MU Brno) - it is a well-developed and feasible solution that cleverly elaborates on the value that the former industrial location has gained secondarily due to long-term abandonment.

Lukáš Beran
Jakub Fišer
Dan Merta
Petr Volf