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Professor Šlapeta in an interview for Czech Television after his return from Copenhagen | Author: ČTVladimír Šlapeta from the Faculty of Architecture of Brno University of Technology (FA) received world recognition for his work. First, at the suggestion of CICA (International Committee of Architectural Critics) President Wilfried Wang, he became a member of the prestigious club of architecture critics. Then, during the 28th International Congress of the International Union of Architects (UIA) in Copenhagen, he received the distinguished Triennial UIA Jean Tschumi Prize in the field of architectural criticism, architectural literature and education in the presence of 4,000 architects from all over the world.
The UIA website states that Vladimir Šlapeta was recognised for his “outstanding contribution to teaching, deanship, through his writings, museum exhibitions, catalogues, and keynotes on the achievements of the Czech avant-garde in an international context and on contemporary European architecture.”
This is the second time that one of the main UIA awards is coming to the Czech Republic. In 1969 Karel Hubáček received the Augusto Perret Prize for the construction of a television tower with a hotel on Ještěd at the UIA Congress in Buenos Aires. The success of Professor Šlapeta, and thus all of BUT, was also appreciated by the Czech Ambassador to Denmark Radek Pech.
The Danish architect, professor at the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen Anne Beim has also received the Jean Tschumi Prize together with Vladimír Šlapeta | Author: V. Šlapeta archiveThanks to Vladimír Šlapeta's membership in CICA, it will be possible to bring into the international debate some Czech topics. One of them could be the phenomenon of hospitals by Bedřich Rozehnal, professor emeritus at the BUT. "His designs and buildings brought a number of typological innovations and excellent concepts that were world-class in their time and are little known because at the time of their realisation we were cut off from the cultural world by the Iron Curtain," recalled Šlapeta, who would like to organise one of the CICA meetings at the Faculty of Architecture of the BUT in the future.
The choice of the Danish capital as the host city for this year's CICA was not accidental. Copenhagen is this year's Capital of Architecture. "Danish architecture is admirable for a certain modesty and artificiality, a great respect for the surrounding nature, perfection of details and, more recently, a sophisticated approach to the regeneration of urban infrastructure associated with the realisation of a number of remarkable cultural, residential and industrial buildings. They create new icons of the city, and at the same time they are exemplary in terms of energy and ecological sustainability," said Vladimír Šlapeta, who has spent a lot of time documenting them. "I took almost five hundred photographs. They will be used in a series of lectures on Danish architecture, which have been missing from my repertoire so far."
His wish is to be able to continue his activities for some time. He says that even when success comes, one must keep one's feet on the ground. "Life is like riding a camel, one minute you are up on the hump but the next minute you are down again. I think I've been down more often than I've been up, but luckily I've stayed on the camel so that I've never fallen all the way to the ground."
Acceptance speech by Vladimír Šlapeta at the award ceremony | Author: V. Šlapeta archiveAccording to Professor Šlapeta, there is no guaranteed recipe for success. "The important thing is to always be ready in the right place at the right time. You must also have a little luck to meet the right personalities who will help you direct your energy towards your goal. Despite many stumbles and disappointments, I have had a little of that luck, and for that I am grateful to Providence and fate."
Interview with Vladimír Šlapeta on Czech Television about his relationship to the history of architecture and moments in his career (recording from 16:30) [Czech only].
We congratulate the professor on such an important award and wish him good health.