CZECH REPUBLIC Dutch-Czech team wins Dejvice contest

The new design of the fourth quadrant of the square will complete the plan for the development of the district originally devised by Antonín Engel a century ago. The investor behind the project, a consortium of Penta Real Estate, Kaprain and Sekyra, has already signed a contract with the winning consortium for the preparation of the project. The consortium acquired the plot in Q4 2021 from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague (VŠCHT).

The mixed-use development planned for the site comprises a new square connected to a new building of the VŠCHT and a new Prague 6 cultural centre, as well as a residential block with a semi-private courtyard on the eastern part of the plot. In total, the quadrant will see the development of 100,000 sqm of housing, offices and civic amenities.

The key for our team was to find an urban and architectural composition that would fit seamlessly into Antonín Engel's 100-year-old design and at the same time complement the diverse public space of Prague 6 with a contemporary, new layer. We managed to open up the strict geometry of the buildings while preserving their basic pillars and incorporate into them into a public square on a human scale, activated by the cultural centre, the VŠCHT university building, bistros, restaurants and shops. Our cooperation with OVA, our Czech partner, has been extremely positive. This combination of local knowledge and international experience led to more complex and innovative solutions, which increased the overall quality and efficiency of the design.
Pascal Cornips of Benthem Crouwel Architects

A total of 44 teams applied to enter the competition, from which the jury selected ten participants for the first round. The runner-up was another Dutch-Czech partnership, Cityförster and Studio Perspektiv, while the design by A69 came in third out of the five teams that made it through to the second and final round of the competition.