The architect Otakar Kuča has died

Landscape architecture is a globally respected and professionally recognized discipline. Otakar Kuča, a student and follower of Ladislav Žák, can be regarded as a pioneer of modern trends in this specialized discipline that connects gardens, landscapes, urbanism, and public space.

Otakar Kuča was one of our leading experts in the field of landscape architecture. He uniquely combined several professions: he was a creative architect, a connoisseur and protector of nature, an artist, a research worker, and a university educator. His professional orientation was balanced by exceptional expertise in the history of art and history, as well as an unwavering interest in searching for broader civilizational contexts and influences. This broad scope is essential for functioning in the interdisciplinary field to which landscape and garden architecture undoubtedly belong.

After graduating from the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University, Otakar Kuča worked as an assistant to Professor Oldřich Stefan during his postgraduate studies in theory and development of architecture. He later found creative space at the Research Institute of Construction and Architecture (VÚVA) and, as a designer, immediately after its formation, joined the State Institute for the Reconstruction of Historic Towns and Buildings (SÚRPMO). Among his most significant works are the castle gardens in Holešov, Jindřichův Hradec, Kratochvíle, and Troja, the "Malostranská" metro station, the promenade and fountain in Mariánské Lázně, "Park Friendship" in Prosek, or the Prague gardens Kajetánka, Voršilská, and Strahov, as well as more recent projects like the Franciscan Garden in Prague, the Acropolis at Vyšehrad, and Hanácké Square in Kroměříž.

As a significant expert, Otakar Kuča was invited to participate in international conferences and served on juries for architectural competitions. He was a member of many professional international organizations, including serving on the Grand Council of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) from 1968 to 1973 and as a member of the Council of Prague Castle from 1993 to 1997. He was also an educator at the Technical University in Berlin (where he earned a Dr-Ing degree in 1973), at the School of Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts, and at the University of Applied Arts, as well as lecturing at the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University and Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno.

For his comparative studies for UNESCO: "Lednice-Valtice Area" and "Kroměříž Gardens and Castle," Otakar Kuča received silver medals from Mendel University and the city of Kroměříž, and for his lifelong work, he was awarded the "Personality of Czech Architecture" award by the Union of Architects in 2003. In 2015, he received an award from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic for his contributions to architecture.