On November 8^th, the results of the 7^th Czech Architecture Award, held by the Czech Chamber of Architects, were announced at a gala evening at Forum Karlin, Prague. Winners of the main award were Jiří and Barbora Weinzettl from Atelier 111 architekti for the family house near Kozinovo náměstí in Trhové Sviny. The jury also announced four other finalists, partners’ awards, and special awards.

The municipal contemporary art gallery PLATO Ostrava finally found a presentable new seat, adapting for its purposes the 19th century building of the old municipal slaughterhouse. The gallery had previously occupied a former home improvement store for several years. There are two main themes in the adaptation project. The original old masonry, though quite dilapidated, is preserved and supplemented with a contemporary material—various forms of concrete. The second theme is the conceptual idea of moving architecture—there are large-scale rotating panels in the exhibition halls so that the gallery can be opened and art can flow outside and activate the surrounding public space. This space is designed as a garden park and underlines the institution’s environmental sentiment. PLATO Ostrava now offers five exhibition halls, a café, a studio for educational events and a democratic admission charge which, combined with the physical openness of the building, could help attract new audiences to the gallery. 

At present time in the Anthropocene, Denmark and other coastal nations are on the threshold of extensive physical change processes of both a natural and urban sort due to climate change. During accelerating urbanization processes especially since ‘The Great Acceleration’ in the aftermath of WWII, society has arguably lost contact with the inherent natural qualities that remain to be the premise for coastal settlement. This situation makes it increasingly important to consider the strategies for future coastal urbanization.

What is unique about Danish architecture? What kind of history is it born from? What kind of future is waiting for it? Among current professionals in Denmark, there’s hardly anyone better to answer these questions than the Copenhagen-based philosopher Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss. For years, he has been analysing and interpreting the architecture scene in Denmark for local and international audiences, while actually being an inextricable part of the scene himself.

The first phase of a new senior coliving estate was completed last year in Ry near Aarhus. Individual units are grouped into clusters of low-rise homes with two to six units each, where each unit has separate access. Several community facilities (laundry, workshop, dining area, greenhouse, etc) are located centrally next to the main path. The project invites residents to engage in the coliving community, offering a very attractive alternative for senior citizens aged 50+. The project was initiated by PensionDanmark and Realdania.

The Stubberupgaard project involved the transformation and renovation of a care facility situated on a former farm, as well as the new construction of a total of 44 additional sheltered apartments for citizens suffering from mental illness. The project’s main focus is to reinterpret the historically tight grouping of the stables, cowsheds and guest houses into a new master plan that reinforces the spatial connections between the surviving buildings, courtyards and gardens, as well as the new housing. The architecture of the new additions is based on the careful registration and holistic transformation of the existing buildings’ characteristics and typology, with the aim of adding new layers to the farmhouse complex. By transforming the housing from the inside out, the project recognises the potential of “homeliness” as a central value in supporting the residents’ needs.

On the coast near Vester Vedsted, the Wadden Sea Centre emerges out of the flat, yellow-brown marshland, from a landscape characterised by endless horizontal lines, secluded farmhouses, and a relentless Western wind. The project is a partial transformation and extension of the existing building. The new structure embraces the old one and integrates the whole complex into the landscape. In form and materiality, the project represents both a continuation and an interpretation of the place and the vernacular thatched houses. The sculptural adaptation of the traditional and volatile building material—reeds—anchors and simultaneously distinguishes the building in the landscape. The volume is stretched and pulled down towards the horizon, drawing the visitor towards the entrance to the exhibition—telling the story of the millions of migrating birds stopping here every year to feed and prepare for the straining travel South.

The landscape, the sea and the horizon are the most commanding aspects of Cliffs of Stevns, the UNESCO world heritage site with visible evidence of the asteroid impact which happened 66 millions years ago and caused the extinction of more than 50% of all life on Earth. The Visitors Center can never play more than second fiddle, always subordinate, and ideally ought to be indiscernible from the approach. Only upon second glance does the building come into view, welcoming one inside. The new structure becomes a part of the meandering flow of contour lines, flowing towards the sea coast. The inconspicuous building is situated on an excavated shelf in the slope, below ground, and configured as a hall of columns, a portico that frames the view like a large loggia. There is a fluid transition between inside and outside. Architecturally, the design clearly references the materiality of the quarry, with limestone used as facade material.

The Danish architecture canon is represented by a long list of great works, and its spirit and ambition can be experienced even in general buildings, public housing, and schools. There is no shortage in the media of praise for the virtues of Danish design, but is there more to it than just color styles, intriguing forms, and hygge-evoking interiors?

Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen is Northern Europe's largest hospital for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. It has been designed in close cooperation with users to ensure a pleasant experience for the patient in all stages of arrival, waiting or consultation. The design incorporates natural materials, the logical organisation of space, and enough natural light. The hospital is organised around four inner lush courtyards. There is a roof garden accessible to the public, the rest of the roof is half green and half covered with PV panels.

An art project featuring the famous Villa Savoye seemingly sinking underwater was created for the 2018 Vejle Floating Art Festival. This 1:1 mockup of Le Corbusier's most famous villa was used as a symbol of modernity, rationality, and critical thinking. Its sinking on the other hand represented a critical comment on the 'sinking' of the public sphere and the democratic society through the use of new digital technologies—referencing the manipulation of the US presidential election and Brexit. In retrospect the project can also be seen as a comment on climate change and how the ideology of modernism based on fossil fuels is being washed away. Modernism is 'wrecked'.