THE SLOVAK Architects Society (SAS) granted the awards for 2014. The Emil Belluš Award went to the head of SAS, one of the organisers, and professor at the University of Visual Arts in Bratislava Ján M. Bahna. He became the 25th laureate of this prize for lifetime achievement.
His works will be presented at an exhibition that will take place in Gallery SAS on Panská Street in Bratislava between December 18 and January 31, 2015, the SITA newswire reported.
Bahna studied architecture between 1961 and 1970 at the Slovak University of Technology and the University of Visual Arts (VŠVU). Until 1990 he was designing mostly shopping centres and buildings for tourism. Between 1984 and 1989 he was one of the organisers of the unofficial meetings of the central European architects in Spišská Kapitula and Staré Splavy. After 1990 he led one of the ateliers at VŠVU, and he also founded the private AA Atelier of Architecture.
Bahna participated in reconstructions of historical objects and interwar architecture. His first piece was the governmental lounge at the Bratislava airport designed in 1973 in cooperation with Vojtech Vilhan. Bahna also designed Villa Linea in Bratislava in 2002, which was presented in the Global Atlas of Architecture published by Phaidon, and which was nominated for the EU Prize.
The architect has also received the Dušan Jurkovič Award for the VÚB bank building in Bratislava designed in 1996, and the Július Satinský Award for his contribution to the reconstruction of Bratislava. Bahna is also interested in the cultural context of architecture of European cities and he maps the history of villa quarters around Bratislava, as reported by SITA.
This year’s Dušan Jurkovič Award for the best architectural piece went to Kasárne/Kulturpark in Košice. The project was designed by Irakli Eristavi, Pavol Šilla, Gabriel Boženík, Marcel Benčík, Milan Vlček and Silvia Šillová.
Other nominated pieces include House between Trees in Bratislava, the residential complex Nová Terasa in Košice and Elektráreň Piešťany. The objects will be presented as part of the exhibition that will take place between November 13 and December 12 at SAS premises.
The Award of Professor Martin Kusý for publication and scientific work was given to Henrieta Moravčíková and to Slovart publishing house.
