Where everyone would like to live. Druhá kůže has awarded designs for residential buildings

The Druhá kůže competition presents student projects created within the residential construction studio. 43 projects from 21 studios participated in this year's competition. The showcase reflects the different approaches taken by each studio in teaching housing design and showcases a wide range of housing building briefs.

The announcement of the winning projects took place on Thursday 2 March. The awards were presented by Dean Dalibor Hlaváček. He also recalled the initiator of the competition, Prof. Zdeněk Zavřel and his team, who contributed to the creation of the competition and thanked the Department of Building Theory, which organizes the show. He added that "The Druhá kůže is already an integral part of the events at the faculty, and the nomination itself is an important recognition of the students' work and a great success."

This year's jury consisted of independents Luboš Klabík, Jaroslav Šafer and Janica Šipulová and FA dependents Klára Hradečná and Ondřej Králík. "The jury was surprised by the overall high level of the competition projects and even compared some of them to diploma projects in terms of their quality and workmanship," said the jury chairman Jaroslav Šafer, while urging the students to "be aware that the presentation of the design is an important part of the architect's work and to pay more attention to the presentation of the context and broader relationships of the proposed buildings." In doing so, he drew attention to one aspect of the jury's challenging evaluation work, which has to encompass a large number of different assignments, contexts and modes of presentation.

All projects are published in the online gallery on the competition website. Photos from the awards ceremony can be found in the gallery.

1st prize
Adapted Cohabitaiton

Štefan Letko a Ivan Pěkný from studio Hlaváček–Čeněk–Minarovič

Author's note
A house should be practical, humble and empathetic at the same time. To listen to the city's inhabitants, to best serve its users. We promote our ideas through housing, this is what has led to the development of adapted co-housing.

Jury evaluation
The jury appreciates the contribution to the discussion of housing and co-housing options as well as the flexibility and sustainability of the building itself.

2nd prize
Housing Vršovická

Michaela Doubravová from studio Kuzemenský–Kunarová

Author's note
Waking up with the smell of flowers and trees. To pick mint with the morning dew. Breakfast outside and listen to the rustling of leaves. I'm looking for a way to ground myself in Prague. In the heterogeneous environment of Vršovická Street, which is greatly influenced by the adjacent train and car traffic, I settle a deconstructed block. Its shape encloses the environment of the adjacent kindergarten and primary school and shelters a quiet courtyard. I let the people and the sun into the courtyard. I open the flats outwards and enrich them with the qualities of outdoor space.

Jury evaluation
The jury appreciates the complexity of the design and its great sophistication, the urban design and the very well set parameters of the entire structure allowing for a quality layout of the apartments and details of the building.

3rd prize
Apartment Building

Eliška Cibulková from studio Sosna–Filsak

Author's note

The apartment building is designed for a newly emerging district connecting the main railway station and the historical center of Pilsen. It is set between the building of the new clinic and another apartment building, together with which it forms one side of the square. The shorter facade of the house opens onto the newly created Chersonská street leading to Radbuza. The whole district and the house have an urban character, they are town houses. Density is one of the key factors. The apartment building consists of 52 apartments and a commercial ground floor, connected to a private courtyard. I design a varied composition of apartments from 1 + kk to 4 + kk, with larger apartments for families predominating. Each of the apartments is extended by an outdoor space - a loggias.

Jury evaluation
Perfectly crafted urban apartment building with quality layout, design of the structural system and facade and good variability of apartments with loggias.

Honourable mention from the jury
Smíchov Industrial

Elizaveta Kalmykova from studio Krátký–Marques

Autorská zpráva

The main task was to create a composition of residential buildings in Smíchov on a plot of land 600 meters long. It was important to preserve the historical spirit of the former industrial site, to focus on the greatest possible functionality of the buildings and to make this area more visible. When considering the structural solution, it was necessary to take into account the risk of flooding, so the residential part was raised by 5 meters using supporting reinforced concrete columns. The design transforms simple shapes into highly identifiable structures and maximizes a functional way of living. The following names were used for the buildings in the area: STAIRS, SILO, CHIMNEYS AND FACTORIES.

Jury evaluation
One of the most expressive projects of iconic buildings on the Prague waterfront. The jury appreciates the minimalist graphic presentation.