Architecture students from BUT win prizes in CEEP environmental competition

The Czech Energy and Environmental Project (CEEP) awarded several prizes as part of its 22nd edition, and two of them go to Brno University of Technology. The competition, which presents energy-sustainable projects, buildings, and innovations, recognized the revitalisation proposal of Palackého Square in Kostelec nad Orlicí, created by students from the Faculty of Architecture at BUT.

Students Wiktor Macura, Alex Veselý, Jan Kobza and student Bára Honsová from the Palacký-Dokoupilová studio succeeded in the national competition with their proposal for the redesign of Palackého Square in Kostelec nad Orlicí and proved that energy savings in cities have a future. The Czech Energy and Environmental Project 2024 awarded them two prizes – the General Patron Award, which this year was the Rector of BUT, and the FENIX Award.

Palackého Square in Kostelci nad Orlicí represents an important public space with cultural and historical identity. Therefore, the goal of the four students was to create a space that supports community life, increases the attractiveness of the town centre, and contributes to improving its long-term sustainability.

In the architectural proposal, they work with a shared urban space that connects transportation, recreational, and commercial functions of the square. It includes, for example, the creation of multifunctional zones for cultural and social activities, implementation of a shared traffic zone to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists, restoration of historical monuments, and planting of high-quality urban greenery to improve the microclimate and aesthetic value of the entire space.

The awards were received on behalf of the students by their supervisor and guarantor, Jiří Palacký from the Faculty of Architecture at BUT, during the ceremonial gala evening held on November 25. “We greatly appreciate the double award in the Czech Energy and Environmental Project 2024. It confirms the importance of a data-driven approach when designing architectural, urban, and landscape modifications of public spaces. In the case of Palackého Square in Kostelci nad Orlicí, we evaluated, among other things, the cooling capacity of blue-green infrastructure in variant solutions. We take this as motivation to continue in this direction and lead students toward designing sustainable and resilient urban environments, which is also one of the government’s priorities,” said Palacký.

The CEEP competition supports projects and solutions focused on increasing energy efficiency and security, Industry 4.0 principles, and the concept of smart cities, thus contributing to the development of competitiveness and innovation in the Czech Republic.