Prague: Public spaces in the Prague Market Square are waiting to be transformed
Their proposal was selected by an international jury from competition entries from a total of eighteen studies from nine countries. The choice of the expert jury was confirmed by the Capital City Council at Monday’s meeting.
“The area of the Prague Market Square recently literally fell apart before our eyes and Prague sued it with its former tenant. The future was certain. However, we managed to win the lawsuit and since then we have been implementing the first urgent repairs and changes. However, the public areas of the complex need a unified approach and a new solution to function as a whole. We decided to find an international competition. The winning proposal met our expectations and I have no doubt that it will help revive the Marketplace throughout the year and make it accessible to all age and income groups of Praguers, “says Pavel Vyhnánek, Deputy Mayor for Finance and Budget, who is in charge of Prague Market.
“We are designing new Interspaces of the Prague Market Square while preserving the human scale and legible structure. We divide the areas with various tiles and small details. At the same time, we are opening up the entire city complex by reducing fences to the necessary operating minimum. The key topic for us was the addition of trees in space. The transformation of the place with a new identity, including the furniture system, will ensure greater attractiveness and attendance of all the inhabitants of Prague, “say Martin Stára and Ján Antal, the authors of the winning design from Studio Perspektiv.
In the winning proposal, the jury most appreciated the clear approach to the solution, which stands out compared to other projects, not only in the field of landscape and public space, but also in working with topics such as climate change and the heat island phenomenon. The jury also highlighted the work with a wide variety of suitable plants and the connection between the Market and the surroundings.
The climate of the area should thus improve incomparably more greenery in the future, which will also use, for example, rainwater for irrigation. Dozens of new trees will be planted and new green areas will be created. The heat island’s problems help alleviate new water features in the summer months. The winning study also envisages the creation of a square near the building of the former water tower and also proposes new playgrounds. There will be custom-designed furniture in the area, which will offer new places to sit and meet. An important change will be a better connection of Tržnice with the surroundings thanks to new entrances to the complex.
“The international architectural competition for the Interspaces of the Prague Market Hall took place very professionally, the registered studies provided an interesting view of this unique city complex and the development of its public space. I am glad that the management of Prague is successfully following up on my efforts to return Tržnice back to the city administration, and the complex is finally beginning to come to life again in recent years. I am looking forward to the revitalized appearance of public spaces, which will operate according to the winning design of the architectural studio Perspektiv, “joins the representative of the capital. m of Prague and member of the jury Alexander Udženija.
“The Prague Market Square is a very important space for the entire inner part of the city. The new solution created from the architectural competition will significantly enliven the space, bring new functions and also cultivate it. The jury agreed that the winning design clearly meets these expectations, “comments Štěpánka Šmídová, a member of the jury and landscape architect.
The transformation of public spaces will not begin immediately. The design work will take about the next three years. The modifications themselves were then completed in stages so as not to disrupt the operation of the entire complex. During the renovation of public spaces, emphasis will also be placed on coordination with the complete reconstruction of engineering networks, as well as activities and the program of events on the premises. The new form of the first part of the Market Square could be expected by the people of Prague in about 2027. The expected value of the reconstruction will be in the order of hundreds of millions of crowns.
Competitors in a two-round international competition designed the form and function of all spaces between buildings, addressed new entrances and better connection of the area to the surroundings, the location of greenery, new furniture or the use of rainwater. An important criterion was to take into account the already existing so-called Master Plan for the development of the area and also the comments of the Department of Monument Care of the City of Prague. m of Prague. This user had to take into account all aspects and needs of the place and his and the visitors of the Prague Market Square.
The first round of the competition was primarily a conceptual approach to the possibilities and opportunities of the public space of the Prague Market Square. The task was to develop the potential of the space as a popular place for retail and gastronomy, a place to meet, relax and be creative, a place accessible, accessible, open and resilient and last but not least as a accessible child – whether for safe, young and senior people with handicapped or for all income groups.
In the second phase of the competition, the bidders developed a proposal in a more detailed and concrete form. The study advanced to the second round, and the jury evaluated the proposals as those with the greatest potential for further completion.
The competition was anonymous until the final results were published. The international jury selected a total of eighteen proposals. Four proposals from the Czech Republic, four from the Netherlands, two studies from Hungary, Slovakia and Italy came to the competition, and one proposal each came from the United States, China, Poland and Belgium.
The visualizations of the winning design are available here. The visualizations of the designs that placed 2nd and 3rd are here.
1st place
Architect: Studio Perspektiv (Prague, Czech Republic)
Author team: Ing. arc. Martin Stara, Ing. arc. Ján Antal
Collaboration: Perspektiv team (Ing. Arch. Silvia Snopková, Ing. Arch. Sebastian Sticzay, Ing. Arch. Jakub Herza, Ing. Arch. Tomáš Pavlakovič)
concept of garden and landscaping – Perspektiv – Ing. Barbora Kuciaková
cooperation on garden and landscaping – Ing. et. BC. Radek Prokeš
concept of urban furniture – PhD. MgA. Eduard Herrmann & MgA. Matěj Coufal
concept of graphic design – Matěj Vojtuš & Josefína Karlíková
2nd place
Architect: Mezi (Bratislava, Slovakia)
Author team: Katari´na Fejo, Toma´s´ Hana´cˇek
Collaboration: Tomáš Danko, Natálie Marková, Zuzana Mihálová, Patrik Domanický
3rd place
Architect: Boele (Prague, Czechia)
Author team: Pavel Fajfr, Petr Šuma, Ivan Gogola´k, Luka´s Grasse, Jan Soukup
Other finalists:
ECHO Urban Design – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
PLURAL – Bratislava, Slovakia
GUBAHÁMORI – Budapest, Hungary
You can support the PL editor by purchasing a subscription. We don’t show ads to subscribers.
Are you a politician? Publish everything you want without editing. Register here.
Are you a reader and want to communicate with your representatives? Register here.
author: PV