The Association of Building Entrepreneurs and the management of the South Moravian Region annually announce a competition for the best building in the region. The aim is to present quality construction projects and their creators. In a separate section, students of construction disciplines can also compete with their one-year, bachelor, diploma or dissertation theses.

This year, the jury awarded eight works by students of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Brno University of Technology. The main topics were social or community housing and green building.

Community housing in Brno - Komín

Markéta Raková' s master thesis deals with the design of a multifunctional house within the framework of community housing. The building is situated in an area of former gardens at the interface between the original housing estate of prefabricated houses and the open countryside. The designer wanted to open up the area, which is now impenetrable and forms a barrier to cyclists and pedestrians heading out of the estate. She designed five-storey houses with vegetated roofs and terraces in accordance with the principles of Baugruppe construction, sustainability, prefabrication and the associated speed of construction and variability of the proposed interior spaces. It also works with wood as an important element for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Centre for the elderly in Brno

Petr Otépka created an architectural study of a home for the elderly as his master thesis. In it he develops the spatial study developed in the previous semester within the Specialized Studio course. The design resulted in a compact development with a functional mix that included a block for the elderly in addition to housing, commerce, public buildings, a church, a sports hall and transport. The design of the buildings is based on the idea of compactness, whereby the individual pavilions form an enclosed block with an inner courtyard and an adjoining park.

Study of the road rest area Pasohlávky

Another award-winning diploma thesis by Pavel Dědič deals with the design of a one-sided motorway rest area for the upcoming D52 motorway construction documentation. Of the three possible options for connecting the rest area to the motorway, he has discussed in detail the option with a collector strip, which he has supplemented with an estimate of construction costs and visualisation. The author proposes one-way traffic and, for the sake of clarity and safety, the division of traffic into two groups - trucks and cars. The design also includes a rest area with a playground and parking for several types of vehicles.

Water temperature in the water supply network

The bachelor thesis of Jan Veniger is devoted to the analysis of water temperature in the water supply network of the municipalities of Kanice and Řícmanice. For the purpose of temperature measurements, the Astacus technology, which is used by the BUT spin-off Voda Brno for controlled flushing of water pipes, was used. The author described the water temperature along the length of the pipelines in the individual parts of the water supply lines and also discussed the influence of the assessed factors on the water temperature.

Green facades

Jan Vystrčil won the award for his doctoral thesis in which he thoroughly described and analysed vegetated facades and their impact on the quality of life in cities. The thesis is based on experimental research that included daily measurements of temperature, humidity and mass, but also computer simulation or investigation of different systems and types of vertical greenery. We wrote in more detail about the research and development of green facades in a recent article.

Ema Boďová and her work Safiral Letovice, Filip Rajman with the transformation of the castle in Velké Němčice into a community centre and Vojtěch Trmač with his project of alternative or starter housing HEX_CELL microhome succeeded with their projects.

The jury also awarded the year-long work of Sara Sochová from the Faculty of Architecture of the BUT. The author designed the OXYMORON independent culture centre on Mendl Square in Brno.

All competition entries are on display in Building D of the Faculty of Civil Engineering on Veveří Street until the end of May 2025.