Mail ČKA 2025 in memory of Jan Štípek

The Czech Chamber of Architects annually honors not only exceptional realizations within the Czech Architecture Award but also individuals and projects that have a deeper and long-term significance for the field. The tribute, which the Chamber has been awarding to distinguished personalities since 2000, this year goes in memoriam to architect and co-founder of the Chamber, Jan Štípek. The award for exceptional achievement, granted by the Academy of the Czech Architecture Award, is awarded to the film Architecture of Czechoslovakia 58–89 for its processing of a contemporary perspective on Czech architectural creation in the second half of the 20th century.
Both awards will be ceremoniously presented at the nomination evening on June 19, 2025, where 25 realizations nominated for this year's Czech Architecture Award will also be disclosed.

Tribute of the Chamber
The Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) pays tribute to distinguished personalities who have made significant contributions to the modern history of Czech architecture through their work and moral credit. Nominations for the Tribute are submitted annually by the professional public, and from these nominations, the laureates are selected by a jury, which this year included well-known city architect of Litomyšl and Tišnov and juror of architectural competitions Zdeňka Vydrová, journalist and author of professional articles on architecture Matěj Beránek, architect and co-founder of the private higher school of architecture ARCHIP Regina Loukotová, landscape architect and founder of the Land05 studio Martina Forejtová, and architect and organizer of architectural competitions Miroslav Vodák.
“The jury awards the Tribute of the Czech Chamber of Architects in memoriam to assoc. prof. Ing. arch. Jan Štípek for his lifelong work in the field of architecture, covering the entire scope of the profession, from designing and project planning to long-term pedagogical activity and active participation in the founding of the Czech Chamber of Architects and further cooperation with professional organizations and institutions,” the jury summarized in its assessment.
Assoc. prof. Ing. arch. Jan Štípek (August 12, 1941 – May 24, 2012) was a respected personality in the architectural community with a significant moral credit. After years of oppression, he was at the forefront of the revival of the architect profession – he served as the chair of the founding committee of the Czech Chamber of Architects and participated in its founding in 1992. The authorized number of ČKA 00001 speaks for itself. He perceived the profession of architect as a noble calling and significantly contributed to its cultivation and social prestige. He set basic standards for the profession and advocated interdisciplinary cooperation. He held the position of chair of the Czech Chamber of Architects for a total of ten years, most recently in 2006.
Jan Štípek graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University. He then joined the Pragounion Project Service, was a founding member of the Architects' Cooperative A13, and worked as the chief architect of the Pragoprojekt Institute until 1990. From the early 1990s until 2008, he led the Institute of Building Science at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague, where an entire generation of contemporary architects passed through.
He prepared dozens of studies, designs, and projects. His most famous building is the administrative building on Štětkova Street in Prague, which he designed for Průmstav in 1976. Other completed buildings include the pavilion of Czechoslovak construction in Moscow and the reconstruction of the Union Hotel in Prague 4. Among his later works, one can mention the Faculty of Design and Art Ladislav Sutnar at the University of Plzeň in Pilsen.
“Honza Štípek spoke about the chamber even before 1989. And then, when the time came when it was possible, he really started to advocate for it. Perhaps someone will say that it would have been created without him, but I believe that without Honza Štípek, it would have been established a year or two later. And above all – he provided it with a solid foundation. His work in the chamber was not always visible, but during his time, it began to be asserted that all public buildings should be competed for, that competitions should be transparent and legitimate. To be the chair of the Chamber does not mean to promote oneself, but to create conditions for the entire institution to function effectively. Honza was the chair of the Czech Chamber of Architects for ten years. That says something…” reflects architectural theorist and historian Radomíra Sedláková on Jan Štípek.

Award for Exceptional Achievement
The award for exceptional achievement, granted by the Academy of the Czech Architecture Award, this year went to the documentary film Architecture of Czechoslovakia 58–89 directed by Jan Zajíček, which was created based on the idea of Vladimír 518. This film project represents an exceptionally extensive and systematic reflection on the Czechoslovak architectural production during the years 1958 to 1989, a period that is often oversimplified, neglected, or burdened with ideological prejudice in both popular and professional discourse. Zajíček’s film is characterized by an effort for a historically balanced and factual view, which allows for a new insight into the quality and context of architecture from late modernism and so-called normalization brutalism.
In the documentary, the director focuses not only on visually impressive wholes and individual buildings but primarily on the life stories and professional fates of the main protagonists of the architectural scene at that time. It is precisely through their personal testimonies that the film emphasizes the generational ethos, contemporary contexts, and the internal contradictions of the then creation, which moved between progressive concepts and constraints imposed by contemporary politics. An important part of the film's commentary also draws attention to the current state of many significant buildings from this period, many of which have been insensitively modified, neglected, or even demolished.
“We walk by these houses every day without realizing that behind them is incredible work, life twists, stories, struggles, conflicts, victories, and so on… What’s unique about that period is that architects created houses under totalitarian conditions and had no access to technologies; they had to invent them themselves, which led to incredible creativity that is valued even in the West. When architects wanted to create a suspended façade, they couldn't buy it anywhere, they couldn't even order any fittings from a catalog, but had to invent everything from scratch. And that ‘do it yourself’ principle is unique to the local branch of this architectural period,” praised director Jan Zajíček.
The film Architecture of Czechoslovakia 58–89 also constitutes a symbolic culmination of the long-standing effort of Vladimír 518 – a musician, visual artist, and prominent figure of the contemporary cultural scene – to popularize and "re-evaluate" the architecture of the second half of the 20th century. It follows his previous projects, notably the extensive two-volume publication Architecture 58–89, the exhibition of the same name, and the television documentary series. The resulting film thus represents a significant contribution to the current debate about the values and future of post-war architectural creation in the Czech environment.
“At that time, houses were built that will never be built again, in a way that will never be used again. It was an experiment, it was sculpture, it was dreaming, it was an attempt to fulfill certain utopias of the time. And I think that’s incredibly valuable. And hopefully, we will manage to save some of it – not only for the world but also for future generations – because that story is incredibly strongly imprinted in the material,” shared Vladimír 518.