Future Systems and Kaplicky win 拢60m scheme

Avant-garde British architect Future Sytems, led by Czech-born Jan Kaplicky, has won an international architectural competition for the 拢60m National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague.

Future Sytems, together with Arup as structural and services , beat 354 other entries to win the first prize of Euro 160,000. In their design, a biomorphic form like a sea creature is combined with a fully automated retrieval system that can deliver a book to its reader within five minutes.

Second prize of Euro 120,000 was won by the one-year-old firm Carmody Groarke of London.