National Architecture Award goes to Prague’s Štvanice footbridge
This year’s main prize in Czechia’s Architects’ Grand Prix for 2024 - the National Architecture Award has gone to the Štvanice footbridge connecting Prague’s districts of Holešovice and Karlín. The minimalist construction spanning the Vltava River from Holešovice and Karlín was designed by architects Petr Tej, Marek Blank, Jan Mourek, Aleš Hvízdal and Jan Hendrych.
The Štvanice footbridge, which opened last July, is named after the island it crosses, but it is also referred to as HolKa, girl in Czech, after the two districts it connects. It is made of special concrete, resembling marble, which has excellent mechanical properties. It is durable, frost-resistant, and has a high-quality surface which prevents water from leaking in.
The construction of Prague’s 19th bridge has been debated since 1999, but work on it only began in January 2022, following an architectural competition five years earlier.
The National Prize for Architecture was handed out a ceremony at the newly reconstructed Nová Spirála theatre at Prague’s Trade Fair Palace on Monday evening. A lifetime achievement award was presented to Vítězslava Rothbauerová, who co-designed Prague’s 1970’s housing estate Jižní město or the Gorilla Pavilion in Prague Zoo.
The Štvanice footbridge was selected by an international jury from 207 designs that competed for the main award. In addition to the main prize, the National Architecture Award, prizes are awarded in eight categories, including New Construction, Renovation, Family House, Architectural Design, Small Architecture and Fine Art in Architecture, Interior, Urbanism and Landscape architecture and garden design.
