Columbarium by Architects from BUT FA Wins the Golden Brick Award

As part of the regional round of the Village of the Year 2025 competition in the Olomouc Region, an earthen columbarium at the cemetery in Mořice, created under the guidance of architects from the Faculty of Architecture at Brno University of Technology (FA BUT), received the prestigious Golden Brick Award. This award is given to exemplary buildings realized in the spirit of the Village Renewal Program—especially for the restoration or reconstruction of heritage-protected structures and buildings of local significance.

The columbarium was built by architects from FA BUT together with the municipality and volunteers during summer schools and workshops. They used the traditional rammed earth technique—processing local material themselves and creating a double-sided columbarium with thirty niches. The design, building permitting, preparation, and construction process was spread over four years, mainly to link the project with teaching, research projects, and community collaboration. Extending the construction period made it possible to involve several student cohorts (without interfering with regular teaching at the FA) and also helped distribute the costs over a longer period. Without breaks, the actual ramming of the load-bearing structure would have taken only about two weeks.

The design was created by student Jan Peřina under the supervision of the faculty’s teachers. “A major theme was distinguishing it from the cemetery wall. To prevent the columbarium from appearing as part of the wall, it was built higher than the wall and left without plaster, which creates a strong contrast with the white wall,” Peřina explains the architectural concept and design logic.

The columbarium was created as part of the “Clay for People” project, and the work on it confirmed that it is not only possible but also beneficial to collaborate with diverse groups—across gender, age, language, and culture—and jointly create sustainable architecture with broader social impact. Green technologies were used during the construction, with respect to the environment and technical possibilities. The project helped raise awareness of environmentally friendly building materials and the potential of community-based construction. Feedback and experiences from the project also appeared in students’ final theses and coursework. Now, the columbarium has also succeeded in the Village of the Year competition, where it received the Golden Brick Award for its comprehensive approach that honors tradition.
“The result is, in my view, recognition of the university’s third mission and the concept of the engaged university—one that is not closed off from society but actively contributes to addressing social challenges,” adds Zdeněk Vejpustek, the project’s coordinator.