The Club for Old Prague award was won by the church in Šumná

Prague - The Club for Old Prague Award for a new building in a historic environment was awarded this year to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Šumná in the Znojmo region by Moravian architect Marek Štěpán. The chairman of the jury and historian of modern architecture Rostislav Švácha emphasized the building's location, which made "a real public space" out of a randomly created area. Štěpán received the award today at a ceremonial evening in Prague.
    The church stands in a triangular area of the village not far from Vranov nad Dyjí, which, according to Švácha, "wasn't much" before its construction. "The building, however, has enhanced the public nature of the place," declared the jury chairman, noting that there is a post office, a restaurant, and a telephone booth nearby. He also appreciated that the modern building refers to historical architecture with subtle elements - namely Romanesque style.
    "I had only one task. To build the church for as little money as possible while making it look as large as possible," said the architect briefly while accepting the award. During the consecration of the church in September 2008, his Atelier Štěpán stated in a press release that the architecture of the building is based on old early Christian longitudinal sacred buildings and "reinterprets them for the needs of contemporary liturgy."
    The church has a rectangular floor plan divided into a tower, nave, and apse. The main space is a rectangular vaulted nave with a sanctuary. According to the atelier, the building took three years to construct and cost 6.5 million crowns.
    The Club for Old Prague today awarded its prizes for the seventh time. It recognized buildings that, according to its members, do not disrupt the historic environment, excel in valuable architecture, and cultivate their surroundings. For the first time this year, the jury announced second and third places.
    The metaphorical silver medal was awarded to the multifunctional Palace Zdar in Ústí nad Labem by architects Jan Jehlík and Ivan Reimann. According to Švácha, it restored the original shape of the main square of Ústí, which was damaged by bombings during World War II. He noted that the building's style resembles Berlin architecture from the 1920s - for example, with its rounded corners. Jehlík stated that the German elements were "heritage criteria for this place."
    The third place was taken by the cultural center Střelnice in Turnov, designed by Prague architects Libor Čížek, Ondřej Moravec, Michal Nekola, and Radek Šíma. According to the jury chairman, the atelier very well chose the scale of the building, which "subtly references classicism." At the same time, according to him, it harmonizes very well with the nearby neo-Gothic church.