Dean's Awards 2022 were announced

The aim of the competition is to present excellent creative work and to reflect the quality and direction of teaching at the largest school of architecture in the Czech Republic. A new feature of the second year of the competition is a statuette by design graduate Klára Janypková, which was presented by Dean Dalibor Hlaváček to all the winners.

"The Dean's Award was established only last year, but it has already established itself in the life of the faculty. My ambition is to cover as wide a range of student work as possible that is produced in our school. That is one of the reasons why this year we have added awards for first-year and theoretical term works. Heads of projects nominated nearly a hundred projects for the award, from which the judges selected 26 finalists and 6 winning pieces of work. Congratulations to all of them! I was also very pleased with the response to the competition for the form of the statuette for the winners and runners-up of the Dean's Award. 30 designs were submitted, from which we selected a magical all-glass artefact in the shape of the Faculty of Architecture building," says Dalibor Hlaváček.

Natálie Finsterlová won in the category of studio project of the first year with her design of an underground shelter – a refuge from war. The jury appreciated the author's work with basic architectural themes that have been used in the past and their new approach.

The best studio landscape project was developed by Lucie Flanderková and Jessica Kleistnerová. Their work focuses on the landscape of Rožmitál pod Třemšínem and the judges highlighted small, clever interventions that promote the permeability and livability of the landscape and the collaboration between the landscape designer and the architect.

Karolína Čechová and Victoria Cheremnykh were the winners in the Urbanism category for the Milovice Master Plan. The jury appreciated the conceptual work and the presentation of the concept's genesis.

In the Architecture category, the first place went to Karolína Hausenblasová with her design for the Greenhouse Brusnice. Complex and legible intervention into the territory, unpretentious landscaping and quality of the project – the jury justified the decision.

The best diploma project of the last year at the FA CTU is Úboč No. 34 – Institute of Memory of the Nation by David Foud. The jury appreciated the sensitive and comprehensive treatment of the current topic.

Marianna Páleníková was chosen as the author of the best theoretical semester work Her research into the history and potential of the Istropolis Trade Union House in Bratislava was carried out with precision, and the jury highlighted her thorough research approach, where the author managed to track down previously unknown historical materials.

The evaluation of the studio and diploma projects was decided by a jury consisting of Dalibor Hlaváček, Jan Němeček, Tomáš Novotný, Jiří Opočenský, Lucie Vogelová and Markéta Zdebská. Theoretical works were evaluated by Dalibor Hlaváček, Josef Chybík, Petr Kratochvíl, Henrieta Moravčíková, Martin Pospíšil, Maria Topoľčanská and Petr Vorlík.

The jury decided not to award a design prize in the category of studio works of 2nd–5th year and in the category of Science and Research.

Winners of the Dean's Award 2022:

Award for the studio project of the first year

Natálie Finsterlová – Shelter, studio Sládek–Blank

Annotation

A war. A word that evokes feelings of anxiety, fear and danger in each of us. However you can hide in an underground bunker. There are three floors in mine bunker. Each of them has a square open space and small chambers, which are used in many different ways: as a place to sleep, as a bathroom or a storeroom. It is possible to move along the bunker by a spiral staircase or by an elevator. Both of them run to a cabin above the terrain, where light enters only from the inner square atrium.

Evaluation of the jury

Progressive work with the theme of the castle ground plan. The jury was fascinated by the innovative translation of this principle into the underground and the creation of a bunker as a refuge from war. The creator works with basic architectural themes that have been used in the past, but has taken them in a new way. By using the principle of served and serviced spaces and defining their relative proportions, a pleasant space to inhabit is created. The project is up-to-date, spatially interesting and very well presented.

The project can be viewed here

Dean's Award for studio project of 2nd – 5th year

Architecture

Karolína Hausenblasová – Greenhouse Brusnice, studio Císler–Milerová

Annotation

The design is based on the character of current state of the bastions of Prague's northern fortification. Solitairs, ruins of walls, parks and close contact with Prague castle. I perceve the corner as a possibility of connecting two worlds. The greenhouse prolongs the axis of Jelení street. On the crossing of three paths marked by three linden trees it serves as a covered public space. A garden in a garden.

Evaluation of the jury

The project represents a subtle, yet very complex and legible entry into a territory that certainly deserves to be cultivated. The casualness with which the student shapes the road networks and landscaping suggests a certain complacency with which the design can be perceived. The accent in the form of the public greenhouse/café, a small architectural object with a simple operational solution, is appropriate and creates a pleasant backdrop to the site. In addition, the proposal is well and clearly presented.

The project can be viewed here

Landscape Architecture

Lucie Flanderková and Jessica Kleistnerová – Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, Scenery of Ponds in a Half-moon shape, studio Salzmann–Bečvářová

Annotation

In Rožmitál pod Třemšínem, water was a topic from the first moment. It is therefore not surprising that we have chosen the pond system as a task, which intersects the cadastral area across. We want to bring people closer to water, water closer to people. The proposal of individual minimum interventions was also connected with a new path network, to which we followed up with anti-erosive measures that would be able to keep water on arable land.

Evaluation of the jury

The team has designed small, clever interventions that support the permeability and livability of the landscape. The work is engagingly and clearly presented. The jury also appreciates the teamwork between the landscape architect and the architect.

'The project can be viewed here

Urbanism

Karolína Čechová and Victoria Cheremnykh – Master Plan of City Milovice, studio Šindlerová

Annotation

This Master Plan of city Milovice is originated from our urbanistic project made in the summer semester of 2021. The project's vision was to make twin cities out of Milovice and Lysá nad Labem. It focused mainly on the central part of the city Milovice, where the most problematic part was considered to be in between the train station and the western tip Benátecké Vrutice. The current Master Plan design considers the whole Milovice area including the area of Boží Dar. The Master Plan makes possible the further development of Milovice on the development planes. It includes the civil equipment's augmentation, interconnecting Milovice with the wider landscape network, and creating a coherent and quality network of public spaces, which supports the current area's values.

Evaluation of the jury

The project brings conceptual work on settlement structure, transport infrastructure and landscape layout into planning. The broader values are then successfully translated into detailed design. The jury also appreciated the presentation of the genesis of the concept, which is valuable when defending the project to the client.

The project can be viewed here

Dean's Award for diploma project

David Foud – Úboč. 34 – Memory of Nations Institure, studio Hradečný–Hradečná, diploma leader: doc. Ing. arch. Tomáš Hradečný

Annotation

The diploma project deals with the solution of the Institute of the Memory of the Nation for the Pilsen Region located in a rural homestead in the village of Úboč in Domažlice area, which was one of many farms affected by persecution in the 1950s. The design uses existing buildings and complements them with underground and above-ground buildings designed in a simple form, which connect the buildings into one unit. The individual existing buildings have undergone conversion, but at the same time the authentic appearance of the buildings is preserved without significant external interventions, as the bearer of the site's memory. The design includes an audiovisual exhibition of the Institute of the Memory of the Nation and spaces for education.

Evaluation of the jury

The jury appreciated the sensitive and complex approach to the current topic, where the cleaned historical structures are complemented by elements of contemporary architecture in a sophisticated way.

The project can be viewed here

Dean's Award for theoretical semester work

Marianna Páleníková – Istropolis Trade Union House in Bratislava – Preservation of an Icon of Slovak Postwar Architecture

Annotation

The diploma project offers a vision for the revitalization of the Istropolis complex with a focus on the Trade Union House. The complex is adapted to the functional requirements of the Cultural and Congress Centre. In an attempt to offer a strategy for working with the architecture of the second half of the twentieth century, a proposal is offered for the wider zone as well as for a stand-alone building. Approaches of adaptation to a new function, revitalization of the original concept as well as contextual extension are used. The design includes the solution of the adjacent public space, a new concept of communication and functional layout. The aim is a sensitive architecture that preserves and develops the qualities of the original concept for the needs of the future.

Evaluation of the jury

The work was created from several angles and examines the history, form and potential of the significant architectural ensemble Istropolis in Bratislava. It focuses on the urban and spatial context, the materials used, the construction, the design and the artworks, providing a plastic picture not only of the building itself but also of the contemporary ambitions embedded in it. The jury appreciated the precise, balanced structure of the text, the refinement of the language and the careful research approach of the student, who, despite the attention focused on Istropolis by many experts, managed to track down previously unknown historical materials. The student also earned respect for her moral integrity and the energy she put into the study (and subsequent proposal for the revitalization) of a building whose fate was already sealed at the time of this work.

The project can be viewed here