In the narrow selection for the Grand Prix of Architects is the Savarin Palace or the hospice House for Julia

Prague - The shortlist of 50 nominated projects for this year's Grand Prix Architects includes, for example, the transformation of the Savarin Palace in Prague, the children's hospice Dům pro Julii in Brno, the Victoria Palace in Prague's Dejvice, and the reconstruction of the former Eggenberg brewery into the cultural center Port in Český Krumlov. Representatives of the organizing body of the competition, the Association of Architects, presented the shortlist to journalists at a press conference today. The winners will be announced on October 20.

This year's 32nd edition of the competition received 155 project submissions. Projects are selected in seven categories. Among new constructions, 22 projects have been nominated, three from family houses, 13 from reconstructions, six from interiors, and two from landscape architecture and garden design. No projects were nominated in the Urbanism category, while one was nominated last year. In the Architectural design, small architecture, and artistic work in architecture section, the jury will choose a winner from four projects. A list of all 50 nominees can be found on the Association of Architects’ website.

"This year's edition has brought a significant shift. Among the 50 finalist projects, there are substantially more dimensionally large generous buildings than in previous years,” stated Oleg Haman, chairman of the Association of Architects.

The selected 50 finalist projects will be presented by architects before the jury at the Grand Prix Architects festival. The presentation is an integral part of the second round of evaluation and, according to the Association of Architects, annually influences the jury's decision, which has already visited the finalist projects prior to the presentation. The jury asks specific questions and details about the project. The festival is also accessible to the public.

The jury, similarly to previous years, consists of five members, with one of the jurors possibly being of Czech origin. The jury chair was originally Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind, known for the transformation of the World Trade Center in New York. He participated in the evaluation of projects in the first round but will not take part in the evaluation of the shortlist. He will be replaced as chair by Yama Karim from Libeskind's studio, who collaborates with him. Joining the jury will be Spaniard Ana Luengo, Slovenian Špela Videčnik, Slovak Andrea Bacová, and Czech Anna Svobodová.

Last year, the National Prize for Architecture was awarded to the Štvanická footbridge in Prague, designed by authors Petr Teja, Marek Blank, Jan Mourk, Aleš Hvízdala, and Jan Hendrych. The lifetime achievement award was given to Vítězslava Rothbauerová. Last year, 207 projects competed for the main award Grand Prix Architects - the National Prize for Architecture.

The competition was established in 1993 by the then chairwoman of the Association of Architects, Alena Šrámková. The Association of Architects is a successor to architectural associations from the First Republic, which began to take shape in 1921. In 1948, it became a founding member of the International Union of Architects. In 1989, it transformed from the Union of Architects and contributed to the establishment of the professional organization of the Czech Chamber of Architects between 1990 and 1993. The aim of the association is to promote Czech architecture to both professional and lay audiences in the Czech Republic and abroad.