The international jury of the competition for the completion of the so-called fourth quadrant of Vítězný náměstí in Prague 6 has selected five designs. The organiser of the competition, Petr Návrat, and representatives of the city presented them to journalists at Vítězný náměstí today. The winner of the competition will be chosen in September and construction could start in about five years. The public can vote for the winning design on the 4kvadrant.cz website. The land between Evropská and Jugoslávských partzánů Streets should be used for offices, shops, residential premises, a new building for the University of Chemical Technology (VŠCHT) and a cultural centre for Prague 6.
Five of the original 44 teams, including Czech architectural studios, have advanced to the second round of the competition. The team MVRDV from the Netherlands, the Czech-German consortium Pavel Hnilička Architects+Planners and Baumschlager Eberle Architects, the Dutch and Czech studio Benthem Crouwel International and Opočenský Valouch Architects, the Czech office A69 – architekti and another Czech-Dutch group Cityförster and Studio Perspektiv have made it to the second phase.
The jury is due to meet in June, followed by a debate between the investor and the architects on the conclusion of the contract, and the winning design will be revealed to the public in September. According to the mayor of Prague 6, Jakub Stárek (ODS), who is also among the jurors, construction could begin in five years from the time the design is chosen, so the building could be completed within ten years.
The public can also take part in the voting. “The public’s comments on the competition proposals will be given to the jury as one of the bases for its decision,” said Návrat.
A mixed-use building with apartments, offices, shops, services and restaurants is to be built in the fourth quadrant. A new university building will also be built there. In addition to classrooms and facilities for students, it will also house public spaces and a microbrewery. The extension will also include a new cultural centre of Prague 6 with two halls, which will offer spaces for concerts, exhibitions, theatre performances, as well as social and community events for local residents.
The land in this area is mainly owned by Fourth Quadrant s.r.o., which brings together the real estate companies Penta Real Estate, Sekyra Group and Kaprain. Other owners of the land are the University of Chemical Technology, the City of Prague and the Prague Transport Company. VŠCHT sold the land to developers and will use the money to build a new university building.
Vítězné náměstí was founded in 1925 and since then it has had several names, for example between 1952 and 1990 it was called Říjnové revoluce. However, the name “Kulat’ák” has become popular among Prague residents.
Source: CTK
Photo: www.prague.eu
