The Buildings of the Year are the Lasvit headquarters, the tower in Kladno, or the extension of the house in Kojetín

ov architects: Headquarters of Lasvit, 2019 (photo: Tomáš Souček)

Prague – The buildings of the year 2020 are the headquarters of Lasvit in Nový Bor, the community center in Sedlčany, the railway bridge on the Pňovany–Bezdružice line, the renovation of the Glass and Jewelry Museum building in Jablonec nad Nisou, the renovation of the former Veolia water tower in Kladno, the residential building Residence Park Masarykova in Liberec, the O2 universum building in Prague, and the extension of a family house in Kojetín. The headquarters of Lasvit also received the public award.

This year, 84 applications were submitted for the 28th edition, which is 31 more than last year. The expert jury nominated 24 of them. They assessed the quality of construction execution, architectural design, and user comfort. Throughout the history of the survey, the jury has mostly awarded the Building of the Year title to five constructions. There have been six three times, and this year, due to the large number of applications, eight. The public award received a total of 177,519 votes, about 10,000 more than last year. The renovation of the Lasvit headquarters in Nový Bor received 26 percent of the votes.

In the case of the renovation of the Lasvit headquarters in Nový Bor, the jury appreciated the sensitive connection of two protected buildings with two new structures that differ in materials and shapes. They consider the new glass building especially successful, reflecting the tradition and artistry of Czech glassmaking.

The community center in Sedlčany received the title for the complexity of the solution and the creativity of the author. "It is a small complex of a prayer hall, a residential building with facilities, and an adjacent park with a paved area of a small square," the jury stated regarding the project.

The railway bridge on the Pňovany–Bezdružice line was awarded the title for its structurally and aesthetically successful solution utilizing a unique technological process of rotational exchange of original and new bridge spans. According to the jury, the construction comprehensively addresses the safety issues of railway transport and the separation of cyclists and pedestrians.

In the case of the extension of the Glass and Jewelry Museum in Jablonec nad Nisou, the jury appreciated the bold connection of the extension in the shape of a glass crystal with the museum's Art Nouveau building. The connection also respects the urbanistic conditions of the locality, according to the jury.

"In the case of the former water tower Kladno from the 1930s, we award the prize for the successful conversion of the old, unnecessary structure. The former water tower provided space for the placement of the water dispatching center and other control elements of the entire regional water supply network," the jury stated regarding the former Veolia water tower in Kladno.

"For the extension of the family house in Kojetín, we award the title for a sensitive approach and an interesting solution to the completion in a modern concept to the already revitalized part of the barn while preserving the sandstone wall from the mid-19th century. It is a very successful and exemplary representation of historical and modern architecture with new functional use," the jury stated about the project.

Titles could be awarded to new as well as reconstructed buildings, urban realizations of public spaces, landscape modifications, residential and non-residential ground buildings, transportation and engineering structures, and specific construction works. The condition for applying for the competition was the completion and commissioning or approval by the end of May this year.