Missile base at the top of the Devínska Kobyla National Nature Reserve in Bratislava

The missile base located above the city of Bratislava on the top of Devínska Kobyla is today an unused and dilapidated memory of history. Concrete silos, bunkers and barracks built in the 1980s attract only a few contemporary witnesses, curious people and passing tourists.

The buildings are in poor technical condition and, in many cases, movement in their vicinity is dangerous. In such locality which oozes history and is also surrounded by beautiful countryside, we see the potential for its improvement.

Architekti Šebo Lichý Architectural Studio announces that, from June 6, 2021, there is a student idea competition for the Missile Base Complex at the top of the Devínska Kobyla National Nature Reserve in Bratislava!

Students and graduates will be able to send ideas for the reconstruction of the site until October 29, 2021. All competition materials are available online.

Evaluation of the winners will be anonymous. The results will be announced in November and the winners of the competition will be awarded financial prizes: 1st prize – 3 000 €, 2nd prize – 2 000 €, 3rd prize – 1 000 €.

The jury will include renowned architects.

Dana Čupková is the co-founder and design director of EPIPHYTE Lab, an interdisciplinary architectural and research team that was recognized as the Next Progressive design practice by ARCHITECT Magazine in 2018.

She is currently an Associate Professor at the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture of the Track Chair postgraduate program for Master of Science in Sustainable Design (MSSD). From 2014 to 2017 she served on the ACADIA Board of Directors and the Editorial Board of IJAC.

Miroslava Brooks is a founding partner of FORMA studio and a professor at the Yale School of Architecture and Weizman School of Architecture, where she has continuously taught since 2014. FORMA develops projects with architectural clarity and conceptual consistency, focusing on a harmonious combination of order and whimsy.

Lenka Petráková works for Zaha Hadid Architects in London. The winning project of the 8th Continent (Jacques Rougerie Foundation Grand Prix Award), which has made her known in recent weeks, is a complex of floating buildings that would collect, sort, and then transport plastic waste ashore. Her other projects include the design of Natural Temples, the SCI-FI Museum in Washington, and the Performance Centre in Vienna.

Imro Vaško is an architect, writer, and professor at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. After returning from a Fulbright Scholarship at Yale University, he founded the Laboratory of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design and served as visiting professor at the Rhode Island School of Design.

He also co-authored a joint exhibition of the Czech and Slovak Republics at the 7th Biennial of Architecture in Venice, and co-founded the international Experimental Architecture Biennial in Prague.

He is the author of the books: Architektúra pohyblivého obrazu and Nové milénium – od pádu dvojičiek po smrť Zahy Hadid. He is currently collaborating with the Šebo – Lichý architekti studio.

The jury also includes the mayor of Devínska Nová Ves – Dárius Krajčír, and representatives of the Architekti Šebo Lichý Architectural Studio – Tomáš Šebo and Igor Lichý.

We believe that this ideological competition will be a necessary impulse for the revitalization of the currently abandoned and dilapidated area of the missile base located in the protected landscape area of the Little Carpathians.

The significant historical, natural, artistic as well as military context of the missile base are stimulating motives for the best use of the area even today. In addition to the fact that a possible reconstruction would preserve its rich historical heritage, it would support tourism and create another relaxing place for not only for the people of Bratislava.

We find several inspiring implementations of a similar kind abroad, where remarkable architectural works were created from neglected military bunkers. We are looking forward to all student ideas that will support such a transformation at Devínska Kobyla.

Download the information related to this competition here.

Check out all competitions from here.