The construction of the Ústí nad Labem Region 2018 is an observatory in Teplice

Ústí nad Labem – The construction of the Ústí Region for the year 2018 became the reconstruction of the Northern Bohemian Observatory and Planetarium in Teplice. The applicant of the construction, Governor Oldřich Bubeníček (KSČM), received a financial reward of 30,000 crowns. The second place went to Palachova Street in Litoměřice for revitalization, with the firm Projekce dopravní Filip receiving 20,000 crowns from the region. The third place was taken by the Kindergarten on Stará Street in Ústí nad Labem, where the applicant 3+1 architects received 10,000 crowns. The winner was announced today by Zbyněk Pěnka from the forestry chamber in Litoměřice.

This year the winner was announced for the ninth time. Next year, the construction of the decade will be declared, Pěnka said today at the press conference of the Construction Forum. According to Pěnka, the financial rewards will always go to whoever submits the construction for the competition, and applicants can be anyone, including individual citizens.

The winner was selected by a committee from eight finalists. Among the entries was, for example, the renovation of the town hall in Šluknov in the Děčín region, which received an honorable mention. "That construction had a very positive impact on the locality," said Pěnka. The city of Šluknov received the honorable mention.

The Teplice observatory caught the judges' attention with its innovative solution for the facade, which allowed for a unified overall expression of the building. The costs for the facade reconstruction amounted to 25 million crowns and were funded from the Ústí Region treasury, which is the founder of the building.

The thirty-million crown renovation of Palachova Street in Litoměřice impressed the committee due to its final appearance. "This locality has become such a secessionist boulevard," stated Pěnka. The committee particularly appreciated the addition of new green areas, including the planting of trees, in its evaluation.

The Kindergarten on Stará Street was a building reminiscent of the socialist era. "In terms of construction, the character of the original skeletal structure has been utilized, allowing not only flexibility in the interior spaces but also meeting the requirement for barrier-free communication spaces within the building, which is ensured by the installation of an elevator," assessed the jury concerning the reconstruction.

The main pier construction at Kamencové Lake in Chomutov and the Hotel School, Business Academy, and Secondary Industrial School in Teplice, with the repair of the building's outer facade, also made it to the Round of 16.