The architect Petr F. Bílek has died

On Wednesday, June 18, the architect, long-time member of the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) and its chairman in 1999 and 2000, passed away.
     Ing. arch. Petr F. Bílek (* June 27, 1946) graduated in architecture from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at ČVUT (1965-1971). After his studies, he secured a position in Atelier 3 led by Karel Prager. As the leading designer, he participated in the realization of the New Stage of the National Theatre (1977-1983). In 1984, he emigrated to the USA. Between 1986 and 1989, he studied professional English and technical subjects at the University of California and Consumnes College in Sacramento. In 1987, he founded his own firm, Bílek Associates, Inc. in Sacramento, and in 1993, its branch Bílek Associates, s.r.o. in Prague.
     He applied his rich international experience not only in his architectural work but also in establishing international cooperation. In 2001, he was one of the initiators of the Protocol for Professional Practice in a Host Nation, which was concluded between ČKA and the professional organization of American architects, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). This document essentially opened the way for Czech architects to the American market and established cooperation between Czech and American architects.
     The general public primarily associates the name of architect Bílek with his participation in the jury of the international competition for the new building of the National Library, where he sat alongside Zaha Hadid and Eva Jiřičná. Throughout his professional career, Petr Bílek focused mainly on the realization of residential complexes (e.g., Viladomy in Slaný or a group of family houses by Lake Tahoe in California) and public and sacred buildings (e.g., the Study Center of the Benedictine Monastery in Berkeley, California).
     Petr F. Bílek had been a member of ČKA since 1993, and served as chairman of the Chamber in 1999 and 2000. He was also a member of the prestigious American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 1992 and from 1999 was a member of the Examination Commission at the Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT.
     The last farewell to architect Petr Bílek can be said on the day of his missed sixty-eighth birthday, Friday, June 27, 2014. The funeral service will take place at 11:30 at St. Wenceslas Church in Dejvice. A requiem for Petr Bílek will be held on Tuesday, June 24, at 17:30 at the Church of the Most Holy Savior in Prague’s Old Town.