THE THREE most important awards from the Association of Architects of Slovakia (SAS) were handed out on November 29, the SITA newswire wrote.
The international jury delivered the Dušan Jurkovič Award to Peter Sticzay-Gromski and his partner Pavlína Vlačihová for the Octopus Habitat residential complex in Bratislava.
It takes a surprising approach to the panelák (prefabricated apartment building) structure, Sticzay-Gromski said of the four-year-old project.
“The project has a vitality, in spite of its enormous size.”
The seven-member jury evaluated a total of 23 projects and chose only one for the award.
The Dušan Jurkovič Award, named in memory of the founder of modern Slovak architecture, is granted by the Association of Architects of Slovakia to an architect or team of architects for a completed work of architecture or urban planning that contributes to raising the quality and prestige of the field in Slovakia. The annual award was launched in 1991.
The Emil Belluš Award for lifetime achievement went to urban planner Antonín Stuchl. During his career, he created the town plans for Žilina, the district of Liptovský Mikuláš-Podbreziny, and the centre of Terchová.
Stuchl said a town cannot just consist of individual buildings, but it represents the sum its spaces. The basic components should be residential parts.
“It is important that people know each other, know what everyone does, and whose children go to school,” he said.
The Emil Belluš Award is bestowed by the executive board of the Association of Architects of Slovakia. Belluš was the founder of modern architecture and architectural education in Slovakia.
Prešov architect Tatiana Kollárová received the Martin Kusý Award for her writing on architecture and her promotion of the field.
Kollárová organises architecture and design exhibitions. Since 2002, she has organised Clubovka – an informal meeting of architects and renowned personalities from the field of architecture and design.
An exhibition of photos of the works that were nominated for the awards will be on display until January 21 in the SAS Gallery, on Panská Street in Bratislava.
