Life can be sweet again

The project in Prague’s southern Modřany district is being developed by the Czech branch of Skanska, which began work on the building site last June. The Modřanský cukrovar estate is to be constructed in six stages and will comprise a total useable area of 58,000 sqm. The first residents are to move in in 2024, while the project’s final stage is scheduled for completion in 2030. In the first stage, the developer is to hand over 112 apartments and seven retail and service units. Not all of the homes are to be owned by their residents, since some are to be designed to attract institutional rental investors. “We are planning for PRS to form part of all of our multistage projects as an additional product to what we offer, so we are going to set aside one of the buildings as a rental apartment block in one of the final stages of Modřanský cukrovar,” explains Jan Pohorský, a marketing and communication specialist at Skanska in the Czech Republic.

A made-to-order district

Modřany is a former agricultural village that was absorbed by the city and is now part of Prague 12. The district typically features single-family homes and residential estates built in the 80s, but it also has an industrial history. “In Modřany, you will find what is known locally as the riverbank industrial strip. Over the last 20 years, many industries have closed down their factories or simply disappeared,” explains Ela Siwiec of the Chybik + Kristof architectural studio. A 19th-century sugar refinery also operated in the industrial strip. In 1989, the factory was privatised and in 2005 the old building was demolished. Only the chimney built in 1927 survived, which is to be kept and restored as a part of the area’s heritage. The latest project for the district was drawn up after many different stages of public consultation. This is a very common practice in Skanska’s home country of Sweden and is also common in Poland, but, as Ela Siwiec points out, in the Czech Republic the public consultations held over the future of the former refinery site were a genuine novelty. Working with local authorities, residents and community associations, the basic requirements of the project were formulated, including the maximum height of the buildings (only one of which out of a total of seven will have ten floors, while all the rest will have less) and the form the public space will take. After drawing up the concept, the details had to be ironed out and that was the task of the architects. “Skanska held an architectural competition based on proposals drawn up through a series of meetings and participatory workshops. You could say that the design was created to what the general public ordered. We invited four renowned architectural studios to take part in the competition and then asked the local community to assess them,” recalls Jan Pohorský. “Anyone who was interested could take part in the meeting. For example, the members of a yachting club turned up and the consultations then turned into a long discussion,” explains Ela Siwiec. Both the general public and the developer came to the same conclusion. “Chybik + Kristof submitted the best design, which was a true example of a balanced residential district that respected the original buildings and the history of the site, while at the same time making the best use of its access to the river,” claims Jan Pohorský, emphasising the sensitivity of the architects and how innovative their ideas were. As a result, a design has been drawn up for a district that is open to its surroundings, the river and even people living outside its boundaries. The entire district is to benefit from a square that will be open to the public, a mixed-use hall, along with cafés, a brewery, shops and restaurants, a kindergarten and even a yachting club. The centrepiece of the main square is to be an amphitheatre, which will be called ‘Cukrový bochník’ [sugar loaf]. This will be the venue for cultural events and weekend markets. During the winter the amphitheatre will be converted into an ice rink.

Green and blue infrastructure

The development should be BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certified – and it would also take a very long time to list all of the green solutions that are to be applied. Both energy and water are to be conserved, birds are to be encouraged to nest on the estate and measures to attract insects are to be taken. Care is to be taken to conserve the green microclimate. Rain water is to be directed to the lower ground on the site, while carefully selected plants will help most of the moisture to evaporate into the air. Only excess water is to find its way into retention collectors, from where it can be drawn to water the flora during dry spells. Recycled raw materials are to be used in the construction of the apartments, which themselves are to be installed with systems for recovering water used for washing and bathing. Once it has been cleaned in an underground facility, this grey water is to be used for flushing the toilets and – for the first time in the Czech Republic – it will also be used by the washing machines in the apartments. Such measures should reduce drinking water consumption by around 25 pct. The buildings are designed not only to retain their heat during the winter but also to remain cool in the summer. Due to the design of the façade combined with the use of roller shutters, the indoor temperature can be reduced by around 5–7⁰C. “Modřanský cukrovar is to be powered by renewable energy. Electricity and heating account for around half the carbon footprint of a normal building over its lifetime,” points out Jan Pohorský. There are solid figures that support the project’s eventual green certification. The estate’s green roofs will cover a total area of 14,000 sqm, the meadows between the buildings will have areas of 7,000 sqm and 1,500 sqm, which will be planted with shrubs and bushes, while the developer will also be planting 1,000 saplings.

Rebetong in the walls

To finish off, it is worth mentioning the construction of the buildings themselves, which is to involve the use of Rebetong, a material developed by Skanska. “We are now able to use the waste from the buildings we demolish to create recycled concrete. Rebetong is 100 pct made from rubble without the use of natural aggregates,” reveals Jan Pohorský. Modřanský cukrovar is to be the first project where Rebetong is to be used in such large quantities. But this is not just about the scale. The material is to be used for the first time on a façade. “This will represent an example of upcycling, where the value of a recycled material rises because of the way it is used,” points out Jan Pohorský with some pride. The architects also see Rebetong as a bridge between this modern project and the former use of the site. Reprocessed materials from demolished buildings are to be given a second life in the new development.