On Saturday, September 14, the announcement of the results and the presentation of the INSPIRELI AWARDS 2024 took place at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. The Faculty of Architecture and Design of the STU in Bratislava ranked first in the overall European ranking of universities Europe University Ranking 2023-24 and received the title TOP European University of 2023-24. With a score of 274 points, it significantly surpassed the second-ranked Wrocław Technical University with 174 points. Although the global ranking was not officially evaluated, the second highest point gain in the entire competition was the National University in Tucumán, Argentina, which received 242 points and victory on the American continent, so our European championship also means the championship in a worldwide comparison of 1363 universities. For the INSPIRELI World Architecture University Ranking, the only real measure of a university's quality is the activity of its students and their success in international comparison.
INSPIRELI, as the largest student architectural competition in the world, ensures absolutely fair evaluation based on two basic approaches:
- Participation in the competition is completely free for students and allows them to upload a school project on any topic.
- The ranking of the students is decided by the largest jury in the history of architecture (it currently has more than 1200 members) and a unique three-stage voting system that completely excludes any bias in the possible results.
So congratulations to all the students and their teachers who have earned this amazing FAD result! 1,271 participants from 87 countries took part in this edition, presenting 1,174 projects from architecture, interior design and urban planning. In the current 9th year of the architecture category, Jozef Červenák from FAD STU made it to the finalists for his proposal for Modular Parasitic Architecture, a progressive residential hybrid housing composed of containers specifically designed for the space under the Lanfranconi Bridge in Bratislava, which should contribute to the revitalization of the area. The proposal offers original possibilities for contemporary life in the city and at the same time contributes to the recycling of old shipping containers for housing, office or shop needs.
Honorable mention in the INSPIRELI Archicad Prize category for excellent use of software tools was won by Natália Orokocká from FAD STU for the design of the "Memory - Schindler's Ark" Museum. At the ceremony announcing the results of the 9th year of the INSPIRELI AWARDS competition, four new themes of the 10th year were also announced. The first topic is the design of a secondary school in Kashita, Zambia. Students have the opportunity to design a modern and sustainable school, while the winning design will be implemented and its authors will be able to participate directly in its construction. It will be an opportunity to link theory with practice to contribute to the development of education in Africa. Other topics are the reconstruction of Zahrádky Castle for the conference purposes of Charles University, the third is the design of a building in Ukraine, and the last is a free topic where it is possible to compete with any school project at the discretion of the student.
We hope that the successes of the previous years of the INSPIRELI AWARDS competition will be a challenge, motivation and inspiration for all students of the Faculty of Architecture and Design of STU, and that in the next years they will show their creative potential and ambition to compete with their peers from all over the world.
