The expert jury of the architectural competition for the design of a multifunctional house with 50 city rental apartments and retail space on city land between V Botanice and Matoušova streets in Smíchov, Prague, selected 5 studios from the total of 30 registered studios, which advance to the second round of the competition. These are three Czech studios (Apropos Architects) and Atelier point architects) and two foreign (Baumschlager Hutter and Johan de Wachter Architecten). By the end of June 2022, the individual teams will prepare competition proposals, which the jury will evaluate and determine the final order. The results of the architectural competition will probably be announced in August 2022.
“The Botany project is important to me for at least two reasons. It represents our premiere of an architectural competition for a town house with rental apartments in a place that the battle of creative brains definitely deserves. The house completes the exposed corner where the great modernist reconstruction of Smíchov by Karel Prager began and where, fortunately, it also ended. In front of the competitors, the challenging task will be to connect the classic Smíchov with Prager’s modernist one. I am sure that the winner will eventually “dispute” with the design of Botany so that the house sensitively incorporates into the Smíchov variety and yet is not boring. And especially so that the tenants live well in it,” says Petr Hlaváček, the first deputy mayor of the capital of the City of Prague for Territorial Development.
“All selected architectural studios have valuable experience with the design of residential buildings and we are looking forward to an interesting solution for the V Botanice project. We are all tense at PDS, how it will cope with the relatively challenging challenge of integrating many conflicting needs and constraints in such an exceptional place,” adds Petr Urbánek, director of PDS.
“We are pleased with the responsible approach of the city management, which is solving such an important plot in the form of an architectural competition. As a city district, we cooperated on the assignment and we believe that the winning design will bring a high-quality solution and incorporate it appropriately into the entire locality,” adds Zdeněk Doležal, Prague 5 City Councilor for Territorial Development.
The project at the interface of V Botanice and Matoušova streets is located in the exposed Portheimka locality in the wider center of Prague. This is an extension of the corner gap of the city block on the main street in Smíchov and at an important crossroads. Spaces for retail and services will be created on the ground floor, and city rental flats on the upper floors, intended primarily for the so-called preferred professions, which ensure the operation and services of the city.
The competition proposals will be evaluated from the following points of view: urban and architectural solutions, positive impact on the surrounding environment, compliance with the nature of the site, functional transport solutions, energy and operational efficiency. Prices and reimbursements in the competition are set at CZK 1.9 million.
The Prague Development Company (PDS) was established on the initiative of Petr Hlaváček on June 1, 2020 as a contributory organization of the capital city of Prague. Its goal is to enhance the real estate assets of the capital. The city of Prague and the preparation of projects, especially city rental housing, with the aim of expanding the city housing stock owned by the city, which may be available especially for the so-called preferred professions. By a decision of the City Council, the DSO was handed over for management of more than 400,000 m2 of land owned by the City Hall, on which the construction of 6,000 – 8,000 flats is planned for a period of up to 10 years.
Photo: PDS
