Grand Prix of Architects Won by Prague’s Kunsthalle Project
10/31/2022 - ČTK
Prague – The main award at the Grand Prix of Architects — National Architecture Award for 2022 was won by the Prague Kunsthalle project. The conversion of a former electrical substation into a place for exhibitions and other cultural projects is the work of Jan Schindler, Ludvík Sek and Zuzana Drahotová from Schindler Seko Architekti. Today, the winners received their award in the form of a large blue cube at a ceremony at the Trade Fair Palace. The lifetime award, and the large red cube that goes with it, went to Václav Aulický. This award is handed over by the council of the Architects’ Association.
Václav Aulický’s work includes, among others, the television tower in Prague’s Žižkov district. His work shows an evident interest in contemporary world architecture and respect for the great heritage of Czech functionalism, said the awards organisers.
The organisers also granted awards in other sub-categories. The Environmentally-friendly Building category was won by the Rezidence Michelangelova apartment building in Prague 10 from the Podlipný Sladký architekti studio. The passive building has, for example, triple-glazed windows with external blinds. The apartments have a central forced ventilation system with heat recuperation. The apartments are heated using hot water, the heating source is a hot water connector. The apartments in the top floors have an autonomous heating and cooling system using a heat pump and photovoltaic panels.
In the Landscape Architecture and Garden Design category the award was won by projectstudio8’s Paluba Hamburk project. In Plzeň, the designers tried to transform a neglected public space in front of the bus and train stations and create a gateway to the city. Paluba is to temporarily perform the role of an operations and handling building for the bus station, the construction of which here is planned for the future. The designers chose a simple solution using modular architecture and created a set of three blocks of containers that provide information, refreshments, a service for cyclists and public space.
The Restoration category was won by the restoration of a gloriette in the Rose Garden at Děčín Chateau, the designers of which were Tomáš Efler, Václav Girsa, Miloslav Hanzl, Jana Strnadová and Jaroslav Svěrek. They restored the lookout pavilion in the Baroque monument’s garden, remedying long-term weather damage, as well as harm caused by previous unfortunate construction alterations.
Prizes were also awarded in the categories New Building, Interior, Urban Planning and Family House, as were seven honorary awards. The Grand Prix of Architects has been organised since 1993 by the Society of Czech Architects, a total of 255 projects were entered in the competition this year.
Grand Prix of Architects Won by Prague’s Kunsthalle Project (ceskenoviny.cz)