A group of four architects from Poland won an international architectural and urban planning competition in the town of Náchod for the use and development of land after the former Tepna textile factory near the city center. 26 designs from architects from the Czech Republic and abroad came to the competition for the town hall. Five studios advanced to the second final round. The results, as decided by the jury, were announced today by the town hall.
The judges named the best proposal of the Polish team consisting of Piotr Person, Olga Czeranowska-Panufnik, Wladyslawa Kijewska and Aleksander Sojka from Warsaw. According to their proposal, in the locality near the Náchod chateau with an area of almost three hectares, a city district called Nová Tepna should be established in the future.
The winning team should prepare a zoning study and architectural design of the buildings for the city by approximately the end of this year. “It will also be important to create a management team of people who will control, coordinate and negotiate the entire project with developers, investors, banks and other institutions. It will also be necessary to create a completely new infrastructure in this area,” said Deputy Mayor Jan Čtvrtečka (ČSSD).
The city bought a strategic plot of land near the Náchod chateau with an area of 2.57 hectares in June 2018 from JTH Holding for almost CZK 56 million. After the purchase, the town hall had piles of rubble cleaned from the ruined artery. Subsequently, the city began preparing an architectural competition, which was announced last May. The announcement of the competition was preceded by negotiations with experts, the public, the authorities concerned and potential investors.
According to the town hall of the town of 20,000, Nová Tepna should be a showcase of urbanism in the Czech Republic and a proof of the ability of the public sector to solve complicated former industrial areas in city centers. “The aim of the competition was to create a lively and citizen-appreciated part of the city adjacent to the historic center,” said the town hall.
The winning design envisages buildings for housing, administration, shops, services, a kindergarten or a community center. It also includes a place for a fire station and rescue services or a possible research technology center. At the edge of the zone, there are facilities for light production. The architects emphasized a large amount of greenery and water features.
According to the winners of the competition, their proposal focuses mainly on climate adaptability and social cohesion. “The main idea of the design is to create a comfortable, inclusive and renewable environment,” they said.
According to the chairman of the jury, architect Jaroslav Wertig from the Prague studio A69, Polish architects best understood the relations in the area. “The establishment of two axes, which start from the proposed square near Tepna, logically and clearly divides the area into urban blocks. The plan is simple and clear, largely respects the existing buildings and property conditions in place. Individual building blocks can be gradually filled in time and is not necessary is to build as a whole at once, “he said.
“We are starting to create a completely unique project – a new district right in the center of Náchod. I am pleased that its future form was decided by the citizens themselves, whose wishes were reflected in the winning design,” said Mayor Jan Birke (CSSD).
The Czech team won second place in the competition under the auspices of the architectural office gogolák + grasse. The third place was taken by a group of four architects from Moscow. The author of the winning design will receive a prize of one million crowns. For the second place there is a reward of CZK 750,000 and for the third half a million. The remaining two participants of the second round will receive CZK 200,000 each.
Source: CTK and Piotr Person & Co
