The celebration of creativity has taken over life at FA. The Olověný Dušan Awards were given out

The award ceremony occurred on Thursday, 13 March, at the FA. The annual competition aims to offer an external perspective on studio teaching and to bring reflection to students and teachers. New this year was a separate category for Landscape Architecture. At the same time, for the first time, there was no award for the best studio. Instead, an external jury evaluated all design studios, creating a more comprehensive picture of studio teaching at the faculty. All studios were evaluated based on the quality of the assignment, student output, and exhibition. You can see how each studio stacks up against the others on the Olověný Dušan website.

This year's event included an accompanying program to celebrate creation and creativity. The faculty featured a slide instead of a staircase, a bouncy castle, an art performance by Jan Fabián, a figure drawing in the atrium, and other events. "We believe that if people are self-actualized in their work, they have more energy and appetite for school work. That's why we played, created and had fun with the students all month," says Martin Tabery from the Architecture Students' Association. For the second time, radio raDuše also broadcast interviews with the nominees. You can listen to a recording of the broadcast here.

The best works were selected by an independent jury composed of Ján Antal, Jitka Ressová, Petr Mičola, Matěj Čunát, and Lenka Milerová; Landscape Architecture, Eva Wagnerová, Martina Bauerová, and Aleš Hnízdil; and design, Václav Mlynář, Hana Hillerová, and Ondřej Tobola.

The winner of the Architecture category was Alžběta Janevská with her project Process, on which she worked in the Zmek-Krýzl-Novotný studio. She is designing a residential complex for the busy V Botanice street in Prague's Smíchov district, which stops both banks of the street and, at the same time, builds over it. The design improves a previously neglected public space, connecting Portheimka Park and Arbes Square through the courtyards and revitalizing the area around the bank building.

Barbora Husáková from the Salzmann studio won first place in the landscape architecture category with her work Follow the flow. She dealt with the issue of the water regime on the steep forest slopes around the historic core of Karlovy Vary and the associated water regime. The design offers a set of small interventions as a solution to flood protection and developing and eliminating property damage. A key element of the proposed solutions is stone walls that follow the contours, promoting uniformity of flow, mitigation of surface runoff and water retention.

The jury decided to award a special prize in this category to Lenka Skácelíková from the Sitta studio for her project Motol glade. She brings an environment evoking nature to the roof space on the grounds of the University Hospital. The forest concept creates artificial groves using poles covered with climbing plants. The meadow concept brings grassy mounds into the design, where people can lie down and run around. The whole space is the opposite of long hospital corridors where one is constantly under surveillance and lacks privacy.

The Ryor men's line by Petr Hubatka from Šulc studio was awarded in the design category. The design is based on the requirements for clarity, user and visual simplicity, and a clear visual identity. The principle of canisters inspires cosmetic containers. Their appearance, which was focused on creating a clear and recognizable visual brand identity, is based on a morphology based on elementary shapes. The range is complemented by glass bottles inspired by turbines and airplane propellers.

Also in this category, a special prize was awarded to Eirik Jokeš from the Tvarůžek studio for his Honk & Heat Meter. The design combines cutting-edge technology with design. Gentle lines and a playful look give the thermometer a friendly character that will make children forget their fears.

The competition website provides an overview of all the nominated projects. Photos from the award ceremony can be viewed in the gallery and the recording can be found on the faculty's YouTube channel.