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Good Citizens Make Great Cities

Interview on urban development: only satisfied citizens make great cities

40 ǀ POSITIV 1/2025

ARCHITEKTURA

I have heard from various media sources that you

have become the chairwoman of the international

jury for the architectural competition for Nové

Bazaly, which was recently launched. How do you

assess the contribution of such competitions to the

development of the city and specifically to Ostrava?

I’m very honoured to have been invited to be on the

jury for Nové Bazaly, and even more to have been

elected as chairperson. It’s a huge privilege to work on

an architecture jury because I am often on the other

side as a competitor in competitions – we all find them

incredibly exciting and invigorating because you get

a chance to test new ideas and it reminds you why you

wanted to be an architect in the first place – to make

beautiful and inspiring spaces which make a better

community. I also know the enormous effort and

enthusiasm that goes into competitions, so I have huge

respect for the competitors. Each entry will be very

interesting to review and discuss with my colleagues on

the jury.

Ostrava has a great history of commissioning significant

new works through the medium of international

competitions. I was on the jury some years ago for

the Concert Hall here: the celebrated American

architect Stephen Holl was the worthy winner of that

competition, and I’m delighted to hear that work has

Valerie Mulvin, a renowned Irish architect and chair of the internaonal jury for the new stadium

compeon in Ostrava, emphasises the importance of high-quality architectural compeons

for urban development. In this interview, she discusses the benets the new stadium will bring

to Ostrava, its integraon into the urban environment, and why cies, even in uncertain mes,

should not abandon strategic investments in culture, music, and sports.

Good Cizens Make Great Cies

Well run compeons are a brilliant

way of nding the most appropriate,

ingenious and sustainable soluons

to our cies.

Medieval Mile Museum, Kilkenny | © Chrisan Richters, 2017

Valerie Mulvin in her studio, Dublin | © Myles Shelley, 2024

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