Celkem 54 projektů z Česka a Slovenska se utkalo o Cenu Víta Brandy 2022. Hlavní cenu za nejlepší realizace dopravních staveb a proměn ve veřejném prostoru si odnesl ateliér Jakub Cigler Architekti za revitalizaci Moskevské ulice v Praze. Ocenění v jednotlivých kategoriích získali také autoři realizací v Brně, Třebíči, Mikroregionu Ivančicko a ve městě Strmilov. Soutěžící i porota potvrdili, že podobná soutěž v tuzemsku chyběla a příklady mohou být inspirací i pro další města a regiony.

Czech architects, who had already been developing postmodern approaches in their work since the 1970s, considered the term postmodernism misleading and basically forbidden, much like many foreign architects. Whether they demonstrated postmodern strategies being consciously inspired by western architecture, or indirectly through their own exploration, remains a question. Though their postmodern approaches assumed subversive ironic meanings, they were social gestures and environmental calls, too. After 1989, also under the influence of critical regionalism, the terms new modernism, neofunctionalism, or simply functionalism—signifying an uninterrupted connection with the interwar tradition—were established to describe the work of these architects. As a result, there’s still some confusion about what should actually be considered the legacy of the Czech postmodern architectural heritage.

Jan Mach and Jan Vondrák, founders of Mjölk architecture office in Liberec, are very much influenced by the landscape around the foothills of the Jizerské Mountains and the Ještěd Ridge. They attended university there, and they still live and work there today. Their long term focus on architectural interventions in nature was predetermined by the surrounding setting. As a result, they built several lookout structures on nearby hilltops. In our interview, we discussed the ways in which architecture should enter open landscapes, how we should react when these structures cause controversy, and how generosity and joy are essential parts of the job.