Central Group will redesign the project of high-rise buildings in Prague’s Zizkov due to a change in the city’s position, a spokesman for the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) Marek Vacha told CTK today. The institute is in charge of preparing a study of the surrounding area. In June, the development company announced a change to the project with reference to the opinion of the UNESCO observation mission from 2019, said Central Group spokesman Ondřej Šťastný.
At a meeting with journalists at the end of June, Dušan Kunovský, director of Central Group, said that in its opinion, UNESCO demanded that new buildings on the site of the former Telecom site with a 96-meter-high telecommunications tower should not exceed the surrounding 50-meter-long development. However, the design of up to 100-meter towers of the studio of architects Eva Jiřičná and Petr Vágner cannot be reduced, according to Kunovský, so the company commissioned a complete redesign of the project.
The final report of the observation mission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 2019, pointed out by Šťastný, nevertheless mentions the tower project only in a note, noting that the participants were notified only afterwards. In connection with the adjacent area of the Žižkov Freight Station, where development is also planned, the report recommends that in the case of constructions over ten floors, their projects be submitted for review to the advisory bodies of the World Heritage Center. In connection with high-rise buildings, the report specifically mentioned the Pankrác Plain in the conclusion and recommendations, where, according to its authors, the buildings should not exceed a height of 60 to 70 meters.
According to Vácha, UNESCO is not behind the requirement to modify the project, which cannot even intervene in the preparation and approval processes. “UNESCO as an institution does not comment on the project. The investor reworked the proposal because the city changed its position,” a spokesman said today. Kateřina Bečková, Vice-Chairwoman of the Club for Old Prague, also pointed out on her blog that UNESCO could not order anything to Prague or the investor.
Vácha added that IPR is now preparing a study of the entire vicinity of Olšanská Street, which the city council commissioned him at the end of May. “The current approach will bring a solution that will be in line with the city’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the needs of its inhabitants. The lower height of some buildings does not necessarily mean fewer apartments or lower quality public spaces,” he said.
A spokesman for Central Group Šťastný told ČTK today that the opinion of the observation mission of the UNESCO World Heritage Center and the ICOMOS Council in the spring of 2019 resulted in requirements for the maximum height of new construction in the given locality. “These requirements were set only after the project of the architect Jiřičná and the AI DESIGN studio had already been designed and presented,” said Šťastný.
He added that although the height of the originally planned towers roughly corresponds to the current building and the company received a number of positive responses to the design, the effort is to achieve the highest possible agreement. “The project will therefore be redesigned, with new buildings significantly lower and designed in the form of city blocks with a strong emphasis on greenery, public space and a living parterre with many small shops, services, restaurants and cafes. This will meet UNESCO requirements, but also other bodies, “said the spokesman. He added that the company wants to build the original towers elsewhere.
Source: CZK
