Statutární město Zlín na závěr roku 2019 rozhodlo o zřízení příspěvkové organizace Kanceláře architekta města Zlína, jejíž náplní bude koncepční, metodická a komunikační činnost na poli urbanismu a územního rozvoje s přesahem do širokého spektra celkového rozvoje města Zlína včetně jejích vazeb na okolí. Cílem zřízené příspěvkové organizace je tvorba urbanistických a dopravních studií a rovněž práce na územním plánu města, s cílem připravovat koncepční rozvoj města Zlína. Nyní Kancelář architekta města Zlína hledá svého ředitele. 

Warehouses along the highway have their own stories. Three case studies from three parts of the Czech Republic represent the embodiment of the global logistics system in the local context of our everyday landscape. The goal is not to mediate a complete, clear or fully objective picture, but rather to record and tell the stories of real experiences, from the point of view of the people living in the affected areas who must confront the new development. The first story, Nová Hospoda, is a history tour of the optimistic beginnings of logistics planning in the CR. The second story, Krásný Les, is an example of how massive warehouse constructions won’t stop, even for naturally or culturally valuable localities. The third chapter, Koridor D8, describes how civic resistance against warehouses gradually changed into constructive coordination and conceptual planning in a broader sense. The stories are followed by an interview with the Deputy Mayor of Odolena Voda, architect Tomáš Lohniský, discussing the question of storage and territorial planning.

Logistics centers somehow seem to occupy more land than other development sites. The main reason for this is that their architecture does little else besides occupy space. While individually problematic enough, they offer a valuable insight into how we transform “natural” agricultural land using different “artificial” surfaces. With logistics and agriculture both significantly contributing to ongoing climate change, however, the seemingly clear divide between the natural and the artificial world disappears.

The architecture of public buildings and public procurement of architectural and engineering projects are important issues. Sadly, public clients remain largely ignorant about them. They rarely distinguish between tendering for the delivery of consumer material and a complex service. And yet, the architect’s selection procedure and their fee play a crucial role in the final quality of the project and, later, the building. Design contests should be the standard for large procurements where the cost reaches hundreds of millions of CZK. This recommendation is part of the Architecture and Building Culture Policy in the CR, approved by the government. Other procedures, at least resembling design contests, can be utilized for small-scale procurements outside the Public Procurements Act.

A total of 632 architectural competitions approved by the Czech Chamber of Architects were issued between 1993 and 2019. Seven years ago, ERA21 made an analysis based on available data from 1993–2012. We now present an updated and more detailed analysis based on the database kept by CBArchitektura since 2014. The data come from publicly accessible sources such as the Public Procurements Bulletin and the Contracts Register, and from communications with individual actors. Historical data come from professional periodicals and from the archive of the CCA competitions committee. A comparison of these analyses shows that the number of competitions has grown in recent years. Despite this fact, competitions are still scarce – only approximately 2 % of buildings in the CR are commissioned through competitions.