Petra Ross named winner of the 2nd Annual Kaplicky Internship

The Bakala Foundation, in cooperation with the London Design Museum and Kaplicky Centre, have announced Petra Ross the winner of 2nd Annual Kaplicky Internship for recent graduates of architectural subjects.

In addition to the award, Petra Ross has also been offered a three-month internship at Zaha Hadid Architects in London. The announcement of the winner of the competition was preceded by a debate on the works of Zaha Hadid called "Zaha Hadid: Work and Legacy", which took place in DOX Centre for Contemporary Art.

The winner was chosen by an independent jury of experts, including Ms. Melodie Leung, Zaha Hadid's long-time collaborator from her London studio, Mr. Deyan Sudjic OBE, director of the Design Museum in London (in the photo above together with Ms. Ross), and Mr. Vladimir Kratky from the Faculty of Architecture, Czech Technical University (ČVUT), guarantor of the project.

“The Kaplicky Internship provides young architects with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the work of some of the world's most influential architectural studios based in London and to help them to make interesting contacts when starting their career," added the Director of the Foundation, Mr. Vaclav Pecha.

Petra Ross recently graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Architecture of the Technical University of Liberec. It was her design of the London Public Library located in the prominent plot of land on the banks of the River Thames near Tower Bridge which impressed the judges.

“The challenge of the project was to replace the existing part of the Park by a library and preserve the majority of the green space as a public resource at the same time. The main substance of the new building is lost under the park which is lifted above and also serves as a monumental umbrella for the general public, under which extends a through-passage with additional features including a library. By lifting the public-access area on the roof, the park gains more sunny hours and the building meets better environmental standards," says Petra Ross about her design. Petra Ross’s design can be downloaded here.