Prague has announced a competition for the appearance of the surroundings and the hall of the main railway station
Prague – The Prague City Hall, the Transport Company (DPP) and the Railway Administration (SŽ) today announced a competition for the design of the well-known surroundings and the new hall of the main railway station. Their representatives told the press. The proposal is to stop three major projects – the construction of a tram line and modifications to Vrchlický sady, which are planned by the municipality, and the reconstruction of a new terminal hall, which is being prepared by SŽ. The results will be known around the middle of next year and construction could begin in 2025 or 2026.
The competition will take the form of a competitive dialogue, in which experts and representatives of the municipality, the transport company, SŽ and other interested parties will be involved in the preparation with the designers. Interested parties can now apply for the first round, from where five advancing teams will emerge in September, which will start preparing proposals. The number was reduced to three in December and the jury should select the winner in the spring of next year.
“That space has not been a decoration of our city for a long time, I would not be afraid to say that it was rather a disgrace,” Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) introduced the area around the main railway station. He thus came across the bad reputation of Vrchlický sady, which Praguers call Sherwood due to the number of homeless people and drug addicts, as well as a tram stop relatively far from the station.
The tram line will lead to the transport, which will lead directly from the Vinohrady Avenue to the orchards around the railway station and will connect to the newer tracks in Bolzano Street. Originally, the city considered running the tram via Opletalova Street, but according to Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (for TOP 09), it encountered noise limits. The tracks around the station were next door, in 1978 they were canceled, according to DPP’s technical director for surface transport, Jan Šurovský, for no apparent reason.
Architects and urban planners will be looking for solutions for the entire area of Vrchlický sady, including adjoining public spaces. It is bordered on the east side by the western edge of Wilsonova Street and a new terminal. On the south side, it includes the tip of the original area of the park and ends at the corner of Wenceslas Square. The west side is formed by houses in Washington and Opletalova streets. On the north side, the area is bordered by houses in Bolzano. The competition will not concern the main road.
According to the press, which was recently approved by Prague’s deputies, the city estimates the cost of building the dormitories and modifications at over half a billion crowns. According to SŽ director Jiří Svoboda, it is not possible to say at the moment how much the reconstruction of the new terminal hall will cost. The current car park should be moved underground from the roof of the hall, and it will emerge from the competitive dialogue instead. According to the competition guarantor, architect Jakub Cígler, dozens of world architectural studios have already confirmed their interest in it.