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Revitalisation of a park, renovation of the New Terminal Hall of the Prague Central Station and a new tram line -the gateway to Prague is about to be transformed.

The park, unflatteringly nicknamed Prague's Sherwood, will get a new look, including a new tram line. The station's terminal hall will also undergo reconstruction. The contractor for the modifications was selected in a tender procedure with competitive dialogue. The purpose of the project, called Nový Hlavák, is to provide an architectural, urban, landscape and transport plan that will focus on the functionality and city-forming role of this extremely important site.A competitive dialogue is a way of finding a comprehensive proposal that will transform this part of the city into a place frequented not only by passing and transferring passengers, but especially by the inhabitants of the adjacent urban districts, nowadays unnaturally divided by the railway and road infrastructure. It is expected that a good design will bring natural attractiveness and safety to the location. 

Twenty-six architectural studios, both Czech and international, have expressed interest in participating in the competitive dialogue. The announcement of the results of the competition dialogue Nový Hlavák took place on Monday, 27 November at 19:00 at the Centre for Architecture and Urban Planning (CAMP). The winner was the Danish studio Henning Larsen Architects.

Please follow the project at novyhlavak.com

Participation

How can you get involved?

complete the survey

Join the survey, familiarize yourself with the proposal and share your opinion on the project for the reconstruction of the Central Railway Station and Vrchlického Sady in Prague.

Participation

How have you already contributed?

An important part of the preparation of the revitalisation of the central train station and the Vrchlickeho Sady Park is the involvement of the public.As part of the preparation of the competitive dialogue, a guided tour and meetings with local residents and operators have taken place.From 24 June to 24 July 2022, you could fill in the survey and express your opinion on both the park and the station.

The suggestions served as a basis for the studios that participated in the competitive dialogue and created their designs. The selected design was then consulted with the public in January 2024. From January 10 to January 21 2024 an information and consultation stand was available for the public in the Terminal Hall of the Prague central station.

About the project

Project summary

TIMELINE

 

  • 2013 - 2021 | Change of the zoning plan, introducing tram line Muzeum - Bolzanova
  • 12/2021 |  Agreement about cooperation of the Capital city of Prague with the Railway company
  • 2019 - 2022 | preparation of the competition dialogue
  • 03/2022 | Constituent meeting of the evaluation committee
  • 05/2022 | Approval of the project + brief by the Prague City Council and the Prague City Assembly
  • 06/2022 | Announcement of competition dialogue, Participation with the public, Registration of 26 teams
  • 09/2022 | Evaluation of the Approach Methodology / selection of 5 teams
  • 10/2022 | Introductory workshop and guided tour of the site
  • 10 -12 / 2022 | Elaboration of the design concept
  • 12/2022 | Workshop 2: Evaluation of concepts / selection of 3 teams
  • 12/2022-03.2023 | Work on design proposals
  • 03/2023 | Workshop 3: Presentation of design proposals
  • 05 -09.2023 | Refinement of the proposal
  • 10/2023 | Workshop 4: Evaluation of final proposals and bids and selection of the winning team
  • 27. 11. 2023 | Announcement of the results of the Competitive Dialogue
  • 12/2023-02/2024 | participation of the winning proposal with the public
  • 1Q/2Q 2024 | Signing of contracts with the winning team
  • 2024 | Refinement of the architectural study
  • 2025-27 | Design work and permitting process, Choice of contractor
  • 2028 | Estimated start of implementation

 

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

  • n/a 

 

FORM

  • Procurement procedure with competitive dialogue

History of the area

  • Vrchlického sady park is located between the streets Opletalova, Wilsonova, Bolzanova and Washingtonova.
  •  Near the newly built station of Emperor Franz Joseph I, the so-called Great Park, later named the City Great Park, was established. The Park was later expanded in 1884 according to the design by the landscape architect František Josef Thomayer.The monument to Jan Svatopluk Presel was placed in a large flower pattern in the form of the city's coat of arms in 1916.
  • At the beginning of the twentieth century the park underwent partial modifications according to the design of architect Karel Skalák.
  • In 1913, a year after Jaroslav Vrchlický's death, it was renamed Vrchlický sady.
  • The hall of the Central Station, dating from 1972-1977, was built on a large part of the former park. Another area was appropriated by the North-South Main Line, car parks, the metro and its exhaust, exits and access roads.

Competitive dialogue

Prague has decided to select the contractor in a "competitive dialogue" that will involve experts on key topics. The participating teams were required to have a high level of expertise - landscape architect, architect and transport engineer specialising in tram lines.The competitive dialogue process was based on anthropological surveys, participation with local businesses, dendrological survey, historical surveys and site surveys, among other things. The actual topics to be addressed were specified throughout the dialogue.