Zaha Hadid Architects design new public realm for Prague
by Kim Megson | 06 May 2016
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have unveiled the first detailed designs for a new mixed-use district set to bring life to a brownfield urban site in Prague.
The lot, located next to Masaryk Railway Station, has stood derelict for several decades. City planners organised a design competition, won by ZHA in 2014, to return the area to active use with a new business and cultural zone.
The project will create a number of varied public spaces, including plazas at the station’s main entrance, midway along Na Florenci Boulevard, at the corner of the Na Florenci/Opletalova axis and at the coach terminus in Prague’s District 8.A. New public space will also be built to pass over the railway lines.
ZHA will fill the zone with a series of buildings that vary in scale and composition to be compatible with the city’s existing urban fabric. The horizontal composition of the buildings will run parallel to the railway lines, and will “establish a dialogue” with the more traditional style of architecture famous in the Old Town of ‘the city of 100 spires.’
Craig Kiner, project associate at ZHA, said: “In collaboration with our partners and the city, we have developed an urbanism for the site which draws inspiration from our analysis of the city and the site’s dynamic circulation networks, creating an architectural response that is sensitive to context, unifying in aspiration and contributes to the urban fabric of Prague.”
Eventually, the site will become a transport hub, with rail, bus and metro links and a line to the city’s airport.
Last month, ZHA senior partner Patrik Schumacher pledged the practice “will keep moving forward” following the death of its pioneering founder Zaha Hadid in March.
“We want to tell the world that we’re still a viable, vibrant address for major work of cultural importance,” he said in an interview with the New York Times.
Zaha Hadid Architects Prague architecture design Masaryk mixed-use
The project will rejuvenate a brownfield urban site that has been abandoned for decades Credit: Zaha Hadid Architects
The district will include a new transport hub, with rail, bus and metro links and a line to the city’s airport Credit: Zaha Hadid Architects
The striking new exterior designed for Masaryk Railway Station Credit: Zaha Hadid Architects
26 Apr 2016
Patrik Schumacher: 'Zaha Hadid Architects want to tell the world we're still viable'
18 Apr 2016
Zaha Hadid Architects pledge to continue with passion following death of pioneering founder
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have unveiled the first detailed designs for a new mixed-use district set to bring life to a brownfield urban site in Prague. The lot, located next to Masaryk Railway Station, has stood derelict for several decades. City planners organised a design competition, won by ZHA in 2014, to return the area to active use with a new business and cultural zone. The project will create a
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