Professor Miloslav Novotný from the Institute of Civil Engineering took part in the prestigious Building of the Year competition in Slovakia this year as the chairman of the jury. The international jury evaluated the submitted buildings from various fields: residential, civil, production or transport.

The competition is announced annually in two categories of Buildings and Engineering Structures, the implementation can be in the form of new construction or reconstruction. The aim of the competition is to promote quality buildings and a positive perception of the construction industry as a necessary, but at the same time modern and innovative field of human activity.

The main prizes in the Buildings category went to the reconstruction and extension of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava and the Engineering Construction category was won by the first stage of the R4 bypass near Prešov.

The People's Choice Award this year went to the Vaillant Heat Pump Plant, a factory for the production of heat pumps. Almost sixty thousand people took part in the voting. The mission of this award is, besides the professional promotion of construction and the construction industry, also to spread awareness and increase the knowledge potential of citizens in the field of architecture and construction. An important part of it is also strengthening self-confidence in actively influencing public affairs in the field of urban and municipal construction.

The importance of the event for the Slovak Republic was underlined by yesterday's ceremony, hosted by Bratislava Castle and broadcast live by the public television station RTVS Dvojka.

This year's edition brought 14 nominations, and the jury's work included not only assessing the comprehensive documentation, including the environmental impact of the construction or photo documentation of the construction process, but also a personal inspection of the completed implementation. "The jury was very rigorous in assessing the energy efficiency of the building, the use of renewable energy sources, the impact of the building on the environment and on the health and satisfaction of the users, and also the societal benefits perceived as particularly important not only by the users of the building, but also by the citizens of the region in which the building is located," described the work of the jury members, Professor Novotný. He particularly appreciated the quality and sophistication of the entries, which were produced in a difficult period of pandemic, war in Ukraine, significantly increased prices of building materials and labour, significant stagnation of the real estate market and high inflation. 

The announcer of the Building of the Year competition is the Association for the Development of Slovak Architecture and Construction - ABF Slovakia. The award has been granted since 1995 and all buildings must be implemented in the territory of the Slovak Republic, regardless of the nationality of natural persons or the country of registration of legal entities involved in their implementation.