Take a look at the transformation of the Prague Market Square by billions. When will the brothel disappear?
The management of the metropolis since last autumn, when the Municipal Court in Prague ruled definitively that the market area in Holešovice belongs to the capital, has promised to transform the listed place. The former Kødbyen industrial sites in Copenhagen and the Matadero in Madrid, for example, serve as inspiration. Thanks to an engaging video, visualizations and drawings, Praguers can imagine what the market will offer in the future, how access to the area will improve or where trees and water features will grow everywhere.
The basis for the new vision of the Prague Market Square are two studies: a verification economic study was prepared by a consulting consortium of JLL and 4ct; the author of the urban-architectural study is the office of CMC architects Vít Másl.
“Holešovice is our home scene,” says Máslo in an interview with a TV architect. His team is, for example, behind the award-winning project of the Holešovice brewery, which has been transformed into a residential and administrative complex. Butter also reconstructed the high-rise building KOVO near Libeň Bridge from the 1970s.
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“Holešovice was a backward district, surrounded by walls, with old factories and enclosed areas. we are that great things will happen here, ”recalled the architect in the late 1990s, when CMC architects also collaborated with world-class architects, led by Frank O. Gehry and Joan Nouvel.
Coincidentally, the Holešovice slaughterhouse had already been in Másl’s study before, one of his ideas for revival was that the tram line could lead the complex. But also due to a lawsuit, it was not implemented in the end. Now the tram does not figure in the plans, but Prague promises big changes.
Target? Return the market to the people of Prague
“We want to achieve the set goal of revitalizing the Prague Market Square with the help of an urban study. It clearly organizes the operation of the complex, hierarchizes the public space, preserves the industrial character of the place and at the same time provides attractive space for new uses and new tenants to appeal and attract most visitors, “said co-founder of CMC architects.
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“The goal is to fulfill the potential of the Prague Market Square and return it to the people of Prague. There will be normal shops and boutiques, markets, restaurants and small bistros, as well as cultural spaces. And also beautiful outdoor spaces, where you can just sit with ice cream in hand. We are already taking the first steps so that life can gradually return to the market. open the market to people of all ages and incomes, and at the same time we want to ensure its economically sustainable operation, “outlined the mayor’s deputy for finance Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague himself), who is responsible for the market in Holešovice. The city’s Institute for Planning and Development (IPR) also worked on the new vision.
According to press releases, the verification economic study based on the analysis of the current state and history gave the municipality “recommendations of a suitable mix and distribution of activities in the area on the basis of experience from the commercial real estate market”. According to experts, it will be necessary to gradually invest between two and three billion crowns. The investment is to begin to return to Prague within the 13th to 16th years. It also depends on the specific tenant structure.
A new landmark
It should be demolished – even with regard to monument protection – at a minimum. On the contrary, together with the reconstruction of buildings and the plan of public spaces, the construction of a new spatial landmark and a significant redesign of the entrances to the complex from Holešovice and Bubenské nábřeží are planned. Thanks to this, historical statues should stand out. The project also includes the location of a sufficient number of parking spaces. According to the administrators of the Prague Market Square, people also do not have to worry about the fate of the popular vegetable market and other companies that are still in demand.
In addition, the architects are planning around 70 new trees in the area, for the irrigation of which the captured rainwater is suitable. “A special cooling system using water from the Vltava will serve to prevent the formation of a heat island,” the municipality writes.
The Prague Market Hall can be like the Borough Market. But where with the prostitutes?
But no matter how beautiful this music of the future sounds, one thing is not fine – the coalition of Pirates, Prague and the United Forces (TOP 09, STAN, KDU-ČSL) must resolve the situation with the operation of the ShowPark brothel. During the emergency due to the infectious covid-19, the mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) gave the disease operator an ultimatum and wanted to accommodate homeless people infected with coronavirus in the Holešovice area instead of prostitutes. However, the hygiene station did not recommend this solution.
“Performing artists” with veils
And “executive artists”, as EROC director Zbyněk Matula, who calls sexual services in ShowPark, calls his employees – to be with a veil (or even a shield) and after regular temperature measurements. According to Pražský deník, the operator of the brothel is trying to reverse last year’s court decision. ShowPark leased premises in the Prague Market Hall from Delta Center, which previously managed the Holešovice complex, until 2025 with a 20-year-old village. And because, according to Matula, ShowPark now pays the city rent, it wants a valid lease. The municipality headed by Hřib considers this unacceptable. Only when the legal struggle is over can a billion-dollar transformation begin. For example, there should be offices in ShowPark.
“We are all looking forward to the court’s final confirmation that the Showpark must leave the premises in the Prague Market Square. The city cannot terminate the agreement between Delta Center and SnowPark, to which the operator refers. Litigation around the Prague Market Square costs the city a lot of time, but above all, Prague would like to start disposing of its property according to its own ideas, “Deputy Vyhnánek wrote to the Prague daily, dreaming that Praguers will one day be proud of the Holešovice complex.
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