Masaryk according to Penta. Will Prague see its Zaha Hadid?
Four long years have passed since Penta first showed its plan to rebuild Prague’s Masaryk. From the ugly crater next to the station, however, the first two buildings of the planned Central Business District project, which is based on an architectural and urban study by Zaha Hadid Architects, will soon begin to grow. If all goes according to plan, it could start at the turn of the year.
“Estimates are rather optimistic, but not unrealistic,” said Ivo Mravinac, a spokesman for Penta. According to him, it should be completed within three years and the total investment in the first stage of construction, including the repair of Na Florenci Street and the modification of public space, should exceed two billion crowns. The planned buildings will be built in the area between Na Florenci Street and Masaryk Railway Station.
Penta has no tenants contracted for the buildings yet. However, according to the company, there is room for interest. “From the beginning, when we published the plan, we are interested in the candidates with whom we are constantly negotiating. However, we have not signed any contract yet. The contract is linked only to the start of construction, so that the interiors can be modified for the needs of a specific customer, ”explains Mravinac.
The appearance of the public space around the buildings will be determined by the project that will be from the planned competition. The reconstruction will bring traffic restrictions at the intersection of Na Florenci and Havlíčkova streets. A new square and other entrances to the metro should be created here.
He doesn’t bypass any more
The through-roof roofing of the track, which should create another public space and connect so far separate parts of the city, is under the thumb of the Railway Administration. However, the constructions are directly connected to each other, and the projects therefore need to be coordinated.
“The start of construction is planned for 2022. However, it will be unlimited on the construction of the buildings of the neighboring developer. Of course, all constructions in the Masaryk Railway Station area are interconnected both technically and functionally, and complex coordination is taking place in preparation, ”confirmed Nela Friebová, SŽ’s spokeswoman.
Negotiations have been going on since the beginning of the project work of both investors. The magic word “coordination” mainly includes the seamless connection of the platform to the Penta building and the barrier-free connection with the hotel on the other side of the track in Hybernská Street. However, the current investment does not apply to this.
“At the moment, an archaeological survey of the plot is planned, which will take about eight months. Only after that will we be able to start building the hotel. So it should start in the course of 2022, “said Ivo Mravinac on behalf of Penta.
Changes in the project and a new competition
Since 2016, the project, which is constantly repeated and criticized, has undergone certain changes. These came mainly with the project preparation of specific buildings. The height of the buildings and their division decreased, both houses became slimmer, and the tower at the head of the building at Havlíčkova Street was also shrunk.
“The first two administrative buildings, which are designed in the area between Na Florenci Street and the dormitory and which are also in the most advanced phase of project preparation, will be completed by the missing street front of Na Florenci Street, which we consider beneficial,” says Marek Vácha from the Institute of Planning and Development. . . m Prague (IPR).
“In terms of height, volume and scale of the buildings, there was a partial reduction and reduction to the level we agree with from the original design. The architects still deal in detail with the designs of the facades in the street front, while the division of the facade into smaller units was one of our requirements. ”
However, a broader urban solution will also undergo changes, and a new competition will be announced for the project in the Karlín part of the area.
“We offer the urban solution of the original study as a basis for the assignment. Its greatest benefit is the solution of the maximum permeability of the territory and the connection of two parts of the city, which simply did not exist for many decades. But buildings from another great architect, whether world or Czech, can be built here, “says spokeswoman Penta Mravinac.
“In connection with the new competition, there was a media noise that Zaha Hadid would not be in Prague in the end. The current project, although modified, is still based on the original design by Zaha Hadid Architects, and the studio is involved in the project. If they exceeded a healthy limit, they would be the first to speak out against them, and they would not have the buildings labeled as the work of Zaha Hadid, “as well, adding that the studio will take part in the competition again – as happened in the planned project in Vysočany. However, in the end, he impresses the local apartment complex with the appearance of the Czech studio ADNS
Another construction, according to the design of the Dutch studio Benthem Crouwel Architects, is planned by Penta on a brownfield near Žižkov railway station. Sekyra Group Luďka Sekyry and Central Group, represented by Dušan Kunovský, will also have a say in the area.
In the case of Masarykova, Penta agreed with the IPR years ago that the urban competition will be announced throughout the territory. “We did not want the territory to be cut like salami, fragmented, but to create a comprehensive concept. This included land where the zoning plan needed to be changed, as well as land already owned by another owner. At that time, no one announced the construction plan. Zaha thus created on an unlimited green field, “Mravinac explains the background of the project.
Later, however, the company agreed with the city that a new urban competition would be announced for the adjacent area around the main road and further to the Florenc bus station. In addition, Penta has committed to a higher proportion of residential space in the area.
Limited traffic on Masaryk
The planned construction should reduce traffic at the station, but not stop it. The railway administration plans a gradual reconstruction of the track, always maintaining at least three boarding edges. “Although it prolongs the duration of the construction compared to the variant with a total station closure, redirection of all trains to other stations in the Prague junction is unrealistic due to their utilization and other constructions,” explains Nela Friedová from SŽ.
In the future, high-speed railways from Masaryk Airport should also lead to Václav Havel Airport and further to Kladno. However, all sections are still in the design phase. The Railway Administration wants to announce tenders for the first sections of the line in 2021.