Two Students from the Faculty of Architecture at BUT Excel in the “Stavba Jihomoravského kraje 2025” Competition
Eduard
Bičiště and Jan Galac succeeded with their school projects in the student
category of the “Stavba Jihomoravského kraje 2025” competition. The jury was
impressed by their designs, which address current urban issues—from the
revitalization of the overburdened courtyard near Mendel Square to the
exploration of the contemporary form of the “large urban house.”
The South
Moravian Region Construction Competition has long showcased high-quality
projects and designs, bringing them to the attention of both professionals and
the general public. It also includes a student and doctoral section, organized
in cooperation with the Association of Construction Entrepreneurs in the South
Moravian Region and the faculties of Brno University of Technology (BUT), in
which the best works competing for the title of Best Student Project of the
South Moravian Region 2025 are recognized.
Dozens of student
and doctoral projects also participated in this year’s competition. Among the
award-winning projects are two by students from the Faculty of Architecture at
Brno University of Technology: Multi-Story Parking Garage on Mendel Square
(author: Eduard Bičiště, semester project) and The Big House (author: Jan
Galac, year-long project).
Eduard
Bičiště: Multi-story Parking Garage on Mendel Square
The project
addresses the inefficient and chaotic use of the inner block in Old Brno
between Mendel Square and Hybešova Street, where uncontrolled parking currently
prevails. The proposal features a five-story parking garage (1 underground + 4
above-ground floors) and aims to triple parking capacity so that the
surrounding historic streets and the inner courtyard can be “returned to the
people.”
“I wanted
to prove that even such an ordinary, strictly utilitarian space can be designed
with empathy. Suddenly, you’re no longer just creating infrastructure for metal
boxes, but a part of a broader urban ecology of care,” commented Eduard Bičiště
on the project, which was developed under the leadership of
The
architect links the utilitarian building with an “infrastructure of care”: the
ground floor opens up to pedestrians, complements public amenities, and works
with the concept of a courtyard left to natural wilderness—serving as both an
ecological and acoustic layer and as a symbolic “permission to slow down” in a
performance-oriented environment.
“That
meadow is intentionally ‘useless,’ unoptimized, and unmaintained. By simply
letting nature live at its own pace, we also give people permission to pause.” Eduard
Bičiště views the award as a signal that even in technically driven topics,
such as a parking garage undoubtedly is, there is room for humanism, mental
well-being, and respect for natural processes.
More about
the project: Multi-story parking garage on Mendel Square
Jan Galac:
The Big House
The Big
House project was conceived as a proposal for an urban building that responds
to the city’s current functioning and the need for more intensive use of space.
The architect emphasizes that his focus was not merely on the building’s volume,
but on creating an environment that integrates functions, people, and types of
use into a single, cohesive whole.
The key
principle is the layering of spaces and the handling of transitions between
interior and exterior. Loggias play a significant role as extensions of living
space, which can be opened or closed according to the users’ needs and the
season.
“I don’t perceive the building as a fixed mass, but as a flexible structure that allows for various uses and creates a quality relationship with the street and the surrounding city,” said Jan Galac, describing the project, which was developed under the leadership of Ing. arch. Luboš Františák, Ph.D.
Jan Galac
views the theme of the “large house” as an opportunity: a well-designed house
can concentrate multiple functions, support an active ground floor, and work
with the city’s density in a way that does not feel impersonal or closed off.
“I approached this more from an urban planning perspective than simply as the
design of a single building. I was interested in how such a volume could
function in relation to the city, the street, and the people.”
More about
the project: The Big House
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