Logistics centers somehow seem to occupy more land than other development sites. The main reason for this is that their architecture does little else besides occupy space. While individually problematic enough, they offer a valuable insight into how we transform “natural” agricultural land using different “artificial” surfaces. With logistics and agriculture both significantly contributing to ongoing climate change, however, the seemingly clear divide between the natural and the artificial world disappears.

The architecture of public buildings and public procurement of architectural and engineering projects are important issues. Sadly, public clients remain largely ignorant about them. They rarely distinguish between tendering for the delivery of consumer material and a complex service. And yet, the architect’s selection procedure and their fee play a crucial role in the final quality of the project and, later, the building. Design contests should be the standard for large procurements where the cost reaches hundreds of millions of CZK. This recommendation is part of the Architecture and Building Culture Policy in the CR, approved by the government. Other procedures, at least resembling design contests, can be utilized for small-scale procurements outside the Public Procurements Act.

A total of 632 architectural competitions approved by the Czech Chamber of Architects were issued between 1993 and 2019. Seven years ago, ERA21 made an analysis based on available data from 1993–2012. We now present an updated and more detailed analysis based on the database kept by CBArchitektura since 2014. The data come from publicly accessible sources such as the Public Procurements Bulletin and the Contracts Register, and from communications with individual actors. Historical data come from professional periodicals and from the archive of the CCA competitions committee. A comparison of these analyses shows that the number of competitions has grown in recent years. Despite this fact, competitions are still scarce – only approximately 2 % of buildings in the CR are commissioned through competitions.

O titul v 5. ročníku České ceny za architekturu (ČCA) se uchází 192 děl. To je vyšší počet než vloni. Mezinárodní odborná porota z nich nyní vybere užší okruh nominovaných. Nejvyšší ocenění, tedy Finalisté ČCA a držitel Hlavní ceny ČCA, pak budou vyhlášena na slavnostním galavečeru 24. listopadu. Uděleny budou také Ceny za výjimečný počin, jejichž výběr provádí Akademie a Grémium ČCA, a Ceny partnerů.

V rámci publikace Památníku Jana Palacha ve Všetatech od autorů Miroslava Cikána a Pavly Melkové (MCA atelier) jsme vyzpovídali historika Petra Blažka, hlavního autora historické expozice a místopředsedu soutěžní poroty. V časopise byla publikována zkrácená verze, plnou verzi rozhovoru naleznete zde.