MHMP: Prague has published a manual on what restaurant gardens should look like
Detached houses with walls of plexiglass or plastic. Gas line mounted on solid awnings. Alpine mountain furniture. Illuminated advertisements. Even so, the restaurant gardens in the center of Prague still looked like. From next season, however, they would have to be different. Deputy Mayor Today, Adam Scheinherr presented the Manual for Cultivated Prague / Restaurant Gardens – an illustrated guide to what the front gardens in the historic center should look like.
“Restaurant gardens are a welcome revival of public space. It is pleasant to sit in the fresh air, drink coffee and watch the bustle of the surrounding city. At the same time, it must not be forgotten that streets and squares are first and foremost a place for people to move and meet. That’s why we need to keep looking, ”says Adam Scheinherr.
Last year, Prague introduced the Manual for Cultivated Prague, which summarizes and illustrates the rules for advertising labeling of shops and other establishments in the city center. The manual was a response to the amount of visual smog that the historic core faces. The manual summarized the rules that must be followed, provided examples of good and bad practice, and also included instructions on how to obtain the necessary permits. In order to provide information to entrepreneurs who do not speak Czech, it was manually translated into Vietnamese, English and Russian.
Now the Manual for Cultivated Prague has been extended to include the topic of restaurant gardens. There are several orchards in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nevertheless, over the years, some of them have turned into separate houses with roofs, floors, walls, heating and lighting. Many of them do not look very dignified in the historical environment in which they are located. The manual therefore sets out binding rules for what restaurant gardens should look like. The rules will be an integral part of the lease agreements that the front garden operators conclude with the city.
“Restaurant gardens are to complement and enhance public space, not to create obstacles. They must also be proven sensitively as by taste, “continues Deputy Mayor Scheinherr, adding:” We want to ensure that the front gardens are not separate restaurants located in the street or square. The ideal is a combination of sunglasses, tables, chairs and minimal other equipment. “
“We found out what rules apply in foreign metropolises comparable to Prague’s history and significance. Based on this, we have, for example, extended the minimum passage width, which must be maintained on the sidewalk – almost everywhere it is at least 2 meters or 1.8 meters, in our country the law guarantees only 1.5 meters. That is why we also expanded it to 1.8 meters, “primarily Kristýna Drápalová, author of the Manual for Cultivated Prague.
This year, the city also approved the Concept of the location of restaurant gardens on the Royal Route and Hradební korz. It is a document that says exactly where the most important pedestrian arteries of the garden may and may not be located. Thanks to the document, the space of the Small Square and the narrow place where people are huddled in front of the astronomical clock should be largely freed up. This year, the document will be expanded to include the area of Wenceslas Square, where, after reconstruction, the gardens should only return to pre-selected locations.
The manual applies to monument reservations and monument zones. It also contains instructions on how to handle each administrative requirement. Anastasia Vrublevská from the graphic studio noBrother took care of the illustrated version of the manual.
The manual for cultivated Prague, including all relevant materials, can be downloaded at kulturovana.praha.eu. Examples of good practice and further deepening in the field of visual smog are also presented on the instagram channel Kultivovaná Praha.
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author: Press Release