Prague Island Štvanice: Won design with several variants
The city’s architectural competition for the future shape of the neglected island has been running since last October. Prague took over the territory back into its administration before the end of 2011 from MeridianSpa, which was to lease it for 88 years and regenerate it.
“It is necessary to make the island accessible first, then to invest,” says Mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09).
E15.cz: Is the future of Prague’s Štvanice beginning to take shape?
Štvanice is still waiting for the decision of the Office for the Protection of Competition, where one of the participants appealed before announcing the winner of the architectural competition. We will not publish the winners until this is resolved.
E15.cz: I assume you have already seen the winning design. Are you satisfied?
The assignment of the competition for the future form of Štvanice was too broad for one specific proposal to emerge. It probably made sense: Architect, tell the city what he wants. He won a proposal that respects this “assignment”, as it involves about seven variants. Since the city did not show its will in advance and everyone on the island would imagine something different, only one found the support of the majority of the commission members. Most of the other best designs were too specific.
E15.cz: Do you personally like it?
It doesn’t bring anything great, but I probably wouldn’t call it average. He is very good, but for how toothless the assignment was.
E15.cz: Have you already chosen a specific variant?
The design allows for various developments in Štvanice. The city will only choose a specific direction.
E15.cz: The city originally announced that it would be willing to invest up to half a billion in the development of Štvanice. But maybe some “low-cost” option will be preferred towards the public space rather than the concert hall?
Personally, I am inclined to take measures in the first phase that would not cost much: to make the island accessible. If it is easy to get there or get there, it will certainly be easier to find political support for further use. As part of the planned humanization of the main road, which should slow down, new crossings should appear there, among other things, and there should be no problem for the tram to stop there. This is my procedure. The embankments made available are the same. Today we look at them and say, it worked and at the same time it didn’t cost much. We may be able to do megalomaniacs in Štvanice, but it should be accessible first.
E15.cz: So the winning proposal will have to wait?
Or it will be divided into x phases and will do so sequentially. Maybe we’ll say: on the right is tennis, the way it works, on the left it’s disgusting, let’s make a park there that doesn’t cost much. But the premise is that people will start going there and the island will become an attractive zone. It is a connection between Holešovice, which is being remodeled, and Nový město with a boulevard where you can get around by bike. The commissioning of bicycle lanes on the main road is in the first place. Then you say to yourself: Where will you go by bike? In Štvanice.