The winner of the New Home of the Year 2008 competition is a villa in Nespeky

Prague - The villa in Nespeky in the Benešov region designed by architects Ladislav Lábus and Marek Nábělek received the highest award in the New Home of the Year 2008 competition, which evaluates completed and realized buildings for residential purposes. The results of the 7th year of the competition, which received over thirty entries, were announced today at the Prague Trade Fair Palace, where the winning projects are also on display.
    The competition awards, announced by the Ministry for Local Development in cooperation with the Czech Chamber of Architects, were given in four categories: new family house, new apartment building, renovation of an apartment building or other building for residential purposes, and construction of apartments in buildings of special purpose. The evaluation considered the architectural quality of the building, the integration of the construction into its environment, land use, transportation solutions, construction execution, structural solutions, and sensitivity to the environment.
    "It has been confirmed that cultivated houses can be built besides satellite settlements. The projects also included low-cost buildings that used unconventional materials," said Minister for Local Development Jiří Čunek (KDU-ČSL) during the award ceremony.
    The winning project in the family house category, which was the villa in Nespeky, impressed the jury with its "balanced and cultivated solution." The construction was praised, among other things, for the visual and material connection between the interior of the building and the garden, and the pleasing scale of the building. The financial reward for first place is 50,000 CZK. In the new apartment building category, the first prize of 40,000 CZK was awarded to the terraced house in Košíře, worked on by Pavel Hnilička, Veronika Hamšíková, Petra Bláhová-Kandusová, and Jan Dluhoš. According to the jury, the building makes good use of the site and environment. The house was built on a slope on the site of the original villa. Thanks to the terraced arrangement, four apartments with rooftop gardens were created.
    The best in the category of renovation of an apartment building or other building for residential purposes was evaluated the historical object Míšeňská 4 located near Kampa, the Mostecká Tower, and the Lužický Seminary. Authors Hana Seho and Petr Hlaváček received an award of 30,000 CZK. The construction represents a successful architectural solution for renovation in the historical center, according to the jury.
    An award of 10,000 CZK was given for the competition design Straw House in the Barn to architects Oliver Kálnássy and Lukáš Gavlovský. An original residential house was created on a site previously designated for wheat straw. The wooden structure is filled with insulation made from straw bales coated with clay plaster. The brick core is wrapped in hemp tow, straw, and wood. "I molded the house from straw and clay with my own hands," said one of the authors at the vernissage.
    In the category for the construction of apartments in buildings of special purpose, only one object was assessed. The award of 30,000 CZK was given to Hagibor Social Care Home, by authors Jan Línek and Josef Kolář. It is the largest project in the modern history of the Jewish community in Prague. It includes the rescue, restoration, and renovation of a historical building from the early 20th century.