Position of ČKA on the course of the competition for the National Library of the Czech Republic

The Czech Chamber of Architects, addressed by the public, issues this statement regarding the course of the public two-round architectural competition for the new building of the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague, Letná:

• The CKA appreciates that an architectural competition was chosen as the form for seeking the best architectural solution, offering the opportunity to select from the broadest range of architectural designs!
• The CKA appreciates that the budgetary organization - the National Library - opted for the costly and more complicated route of an international competition as the highest achievable form of architectural competition!
• The CKA appreciates that the winner is an architect of world renown, and considers the fact that he is an architect working abroad to be an enrichment of Czech architecture!
• The CKA appreciates and welcomes that a quality artistic creation has been confronted with the historical Prague environment and can enrich it with a contemporary cultural layer!

At the same time, the CKA is compelled to state that the competition was held in accordance with the international rules of the UIA (International Union of Architects) and UNESCO, and thus the CKA was not entitled to comment on the content of these conditions, submit remarks on them, or demand modifications.

The CKA is also not entitled to resolve any potential disputes arising from incorrect procedures and decisions of the competition jury due to this title. According to the competition conditions, any disputes can only be raised with the UIA, and that within 14 days of the delivery of the competition results.

In evaluating the competition, the jury identified the winning work that evidently violated the binding conditions of the competition, expressed in section B - competition program in paragraph 2.1 - National Conservation Funds (p. 19) and paragraph 2.4 - Specifics of Selected Storage Facilities and Operations Managed by OSOF (p. 32), particularly

• "storage of national conservation funds must be located in above-ground floors ...",
• "in terms of minimizing risks, the core of the conservation funds must not be located in underground floors...";

these binding conditions and requirements of the organizer, approved by the UIA, were repeatedly confirmed by the organizer and the competition jury as binding in response to the questions of the competitors.

In this context, the CKA reminds that

• the competition conditions are an offer of a contract according to the competition rules of UNESCO and UIA, to which all participants are bound;
• the competition conditions impose an obligation on the competition jury to exclude from evaluation designs that contradict the binding conditions of the competition;
• the competition conditions explicitly state that answers to competitors' questions are an integral part of the competition conditions.

The CKA states that upon violation of the competition conditions, the competition jury is, from a legal perspective as well as from a perspective of decency and respect for the work of all participating architects, obliged to exclude the competition proposal that violated the conditions from proper evaluation, already in the first round of the competition. The general competition rules in such a case allow for a competition design of exceptional quality to be evaluated outside the competition or potentially rewarded, but not awarded. It can even be recommended for implementation in accordance with the general competition rules, which the organizer explicitly excluded with reference to § 23 (6) of Act No. 137/2006 Coll., on public procurement, which allows a contract for execution to be concluded only with the winner(s) of the architectural competition (see point 2.3 of the competition conditions).

In conclusion, the CKA states that the problems described above could have been caused, among other things, by the assignment of the competition, which contained many limiting conditions resulting from the choice of the land without regard for the solution of the entire Letná plain space.

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Appendix:
Citations of portions of the regulations for international architectural and urban competitions concerning the facts described above

1/ UNESCO
Competition rules for international architectural and urban competitions
art. 4, art. 11, art. 12, art. 44 and 45

"...the rules and conditions are the same for all participants..."; "...there must be a clear distinction between binding requirements of substantial nature and those that allow the competitor freedom of interpretation, which should be as broad as possible...."; "...the jury will exclude all competition designs that do not comply with mandatory requirements, instructions, and conditions of the competition..."

2/ UIA
Guidelines and recommendations for organizers - Appendix to the regulations for international architectural and urban competitions
art. 6 para. c) to g)

"....it is emphasized that the publication of the conditions means an offer of a contract, to which the organizer is bound .... the program ..... represents the legal basis for this contract, which is binding for both the organizer and the competitors..."