The Building of MSR Competition, Brave Investors, Creative Architects, Competent Contractors
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In this interview with Ing. Pavel Ševčík, Ph.D., Technical Director of the Associaon of Construcon
Entrepreneurs, we will take a look behind the scenes of the Building of the Moravian-Silesian
Region Compeon, which has been shedding light on and awarding the best construcon
projects in the region for the past 17 years. How does the compeon support the propagaon
of innovaon and sustainable pracces in construcon? How is the construcon sector developing
in light of new technologies and market demand?
The Building of MSR Compeon,
Brave Investors, Creave Architects,
Competent Contractors
Mr. Ševčík, you are a native with a personal
connection to the Moravian-Silesian Region.
What is your take on the current development
of construction and infrastructure in our region?
Much like other fields, construction has seen
a lot of changes in the Moravian-Silesian
Region. Nowadays, many small and medium-
sized businesses operate within the region in
addition to representation from multinational
companies. All of this is additionally supported
by the work of thousands of freelancers who hold
an irreplaceable position in the Czech construction
market.
Both companies and freelancers focus on areas
with the most demand. Some are focused
on construction in transportation or civil
engineering, but we are also seeing an increased
interest in the construction of housing, particularly
mass housing. Contracts oriented towards energy
saving are also something that hold almost
endless potential. Even considering the fact that
the ownership structure of construction companies
may change, and that this market is heavily
dependent on the economic state of the region,
allowing ourselves some room for simplification, we
can say that the construction industry has become
stabilised in our region. Nonetheless, events
in recent years and upcoming concerns regarding
the conversion of heavy industry urge us to remain
vigilant. We will never be 100% in the clear.
What key projects or areas of infrastructure do you
think the Moravian-Silesian Region should focus on?
Our region has undergone a large amount of changes
over the past few decades. There is probably no
other region that went through an economic shift
as large as ours. Other than fundamental changes
in business and economic principles, the region
also improved its web of roads and motorways, and
is continually improving its environmental
preservation efforts and standards of living. In
terms of infrastructure, the next large step forward
in passenger travel will be the construction of the
high-speed railway. At first, this improvement will
take place on domestic routes, but eventually, this
will also expand towards improving the experience
of traveling to neighboring countries, such as
Poland, Austria and Germany. As far as technical
infrastructure is concerned, we can expect
further development of environmentally friendly
measures. Investments of public and personal
entities into energy savings is a very prospective
field for construction companies. We have not yet
seen the end of the demand for photovoltaic power
plants, heat pumps, better insulation, and the like.
Some fields are currently experiencing a great
boom in progress. On the other hand, I must
lament the lack of any significant development or
evolution of the technical specifications of external
insulation technologies over the past 40 years.
The research and development of this field has
been neglected, and there is no large-scale effort
to make use of new materials, even though it
would make sense economically. The result of this
is that we still use polystyrene foam even today,
but instead of applying a 5 cm layer, we now apply
20 - 25 cm.
The Building Of MSR competition has been around
for seventeen years now. Do you remember
the event’s beginnings?
Our main objective was to present the professional
audience and general public with examples
of successful construction projects within
the region. Part of this was also showing off
the bravery of our investors, creativity of our
architects and designers and the competency
of our contractors. We wanted to involve
the general public in discussions within this field.
Considering the breadth of the region, it is above
the capabilities of a single individual to keep track
of every single significant construction project. We
spent countless hours with Mr. Tošenovský, who
“
Thereisprobablynootherregionthat
wentthroughaneconomicshiaslarge
asours.
”