Urban block near the Nové Dvory metro station – PROJECT 6

A Loosely Structured Urban Block with an Inner Garden We propose a loosely structured urban block within the Nové Dvory development area. The block is composed of individual buildings whose arrangement defines both the outer and inner public spaces, creating a clear and legible urban structure. The building heights are carefully positioned at key corner locations to establish a harmonious composition across the site. The tallest element, a 60-meter tower, is oriented to the east, addressing the new urban park planned to the north of the site. The remaining towers mark the corners of the adjacent streets and emphasize the principal entrances to the development. Building B0206 is conceived as an access-gallery building with an elegant tower oriented toward the adjacent park and Chýnovská Street. At ground level, Building B0204 accommodates a children’s daycare facility, with spaces opening onto a private garden and the park to the south. The site is characterized by a pronounced longitudinal slope, which is embraced by the design and incorporated naturally into the placement of the buildings. The interior of the block takes the form of a semi-private garden with pedestrian passages, intended primarily for the residents of the apartment buildings. Lower buildings along the long sides of the courtyard, together with 15-meter-wide openings between individual buildings at the corners, ensure favorable daylight and sunlight conditions throughout the courtyard. This configuration also avoids creating undesirable internal building corners. Within the block, a semi-private garden follows the natural slope of the terrain, incorporating mature vegetation and direct connections to the ground-floor spaces of the residential buildings on both sides. The garden is connected to the individual buildings through passages leading to their stair cores and is complemented by a shared community room. At the northernmost and lowest part of the site, a connection is established—at the location recommended by the planning study—between the urban park to the east and Novodvorská Street. Public amenities and an active urban ground floor are concentrated here, extending the natural center of public life within the development. The new development is logically organized into five building groups. The principles governing their subdivision and subsequent phasing are fundamental to the overall design strategy. Each group, composed of a pair of buildings, is served by its own underground parking garage. By responding to the sloping terrain, the garages are organized across a series of split levels. This arrangement allows all garage entrances to be located along the eastern service road, which is less prominent and better suited to vehicular access.

The jury awards First Prize to Proposal No. 7. The decision to award First Prize was based above all on the convincing interpretation of the block’s regulatory principles and the anticipated character of the area, supported by a high quality of design at every level. 1. Economic Appropriateness of the Proposal in Terms of Capital and Operating Costs The proposal is based on a rational structural and spatial framework. The phasing strategy is carefully considered and consistently reflected in the division of the development into independently buildable and operable buildings, each with its own parking garage. The arrangement of the underground levels, incorporating split levels, responds effectively to the site’s slope and provides a strong basis for an economical foundation and below-grade construction. The jury’s reservation concerns certain façade details whose proposed execution increases capital costs. In further development, more cost-efficient solutions should be explored while preserving the architectural qualities of the proposal. 2. Degree to Which the Proposal Meets the Client’s Brief The proposal convincingly responds to the ambition of the brief to create high-quality urban housing. A particular strength is the above-standard quality of the apartment layouts, which combine rational planning with a high degree of spatial and user quality. The well-developed phasing strategy also allows the project to be implemented incrementally without compromising the coherence of the final development. A more significant reservation concerns the typological design of the kindergarten. The south-facing classrooms open directly onto the street without front gardens, while the classroom connected to its own garden is oriented predominantly to the north. This arrangement does not make sufficient use of the potential for favorable classroom orientation combined with direct access to outdoor play and activity space. The kindergarten design will therefore need to be reconsidered in the further development of the proposal. 3. Architectural Quality of the Competition Proposal The massing composition is coherent and legible. The alternation of vertical accents with lower buildings, together with the appropriately permeable character of the block, creates spatial variety while maintaining the coherence of the whole. The architectural expression is refined and appropriately restrained for an urban residential development. Each building has its own identity, yet their differences remain tied together by clear compositional and architectural principles. The proposal therefore achieves the necessary diversity without appearing fragmented. Particular recognition is due to the balanced relationship between pedestrian permeability, residential privacy, and the public character of parts of the courtyard. The northern passage, with its active ground floor, is appropriately distinguished from the quieter residential heart of the block; the spatial articulation and manipulation of the terrain reinforce the legibility of their different uses. The courtyard provides the residents with a protected setting for everyday life, while its publicly accessible areas remain welcoming to neighboring residents and passersby. 4. Technical Quality of the Structural Design of the Competition Proposal The proposed solid reinforced-concrete structural system with a regular structural module provides a rational framework consistent with the overall concept of the buildings. The described continuity of the load-bearing structure across the above- and below-ground levels supports the clarity and legibility of the structural design. The modular arrangement also creates the potential for future adaptations to the interior layouts.

We propose housing for a future, vibrant part of the city—housing that embraces the potential of active urban spaces while also offering intimacy and quiet within its courtyards. Lively streets. Quiet courtyards. Always under the shade of trees. Moderately scaled urban blocks rise alongside taller towers, creating a clear and legible urban environment. Buildings combine an active ground-floor public realm with the quieter, more private world of residential life above. The architecture builds on a familiar urban archetype, while enriching it with a generous layer of functional elements—loggias, balconies, and shading devices. These elements bring articulation, rhythm, texture, depth, and detail to the façades. At the same time, they make the life of the residents visible, allowing the everyday activities of living to become an integral part of the architecture.

1. Economic Appropriateness of the Proposal in Terms of Capital and Operating Costs The strengths of the proposal include its rational spatial organization and structural system. The simplicity and repetition of the façades are valued from the perspective of capital costs; however, they do little to contribute to the diversity of an environment largely surrounded by architecturally austere modernist housing estates. 2. Degree to Which the Proposal Meets the Client’s Brief The proposal offers a diverse range of well-organized apartment layouts. The block is divided into several buildings that can be constructed in multiple phases. A disadvantage of the proposal is the location of the temporary P+R facility and construction site facilities in the southern part of the block, with the kindergarten located in the northern part. From the perspective of construction logistics, locating the P+R facility and construction site facilities in the northern part of the block would be more advantageous for the client. 3. Architectural Quality of the Competition Proposal The strong concept, based on the creation of a coherent block with a unified architectural expression, responds well to the brief and to the project’s implementation by a single developer. Particularly appreciated is the architectural and typological approach to the lower part of the block, where terraced units create a unique courtyard atmosphere conducive to community life. The lower height of the central part is compensated by towers at the corners. In places, however, these have a problematic relationship to the existing and proposed surrounding development and appear unnecessarily massive. The proposal consequently creates two distinct worlds: residents of the terraced buildings, with their unique courtyard, and residents of the towers, who share the rooftop spaces above the lower portion of the block. The jury is concerned that this arrangement may lead to excessive segregation between residents. The jury appreciates the approach to the ground floor, which responds appropriately to the surrounding public spaces. An exception is the western elevation, where the placement of the garage ramp running parallel to the façade results in a long blank ground-floor façade. 4. Technical Quality of the Structural Design of the Competition Proposal The proposed system, using filigree precast concrete panels with integrated insulation, BKT radiant heating, and a completed façade, represents a highly rational and economical construction system for affordable housing. It significantly accelerates construction, reduces labor and site-operation requirements, and eliminates the need for scaffolding as well as future maintenance of the external insulation system.

The proposal understands the Nové Dvory – Project 6 vision as an opportunity to transform a currently fragmented area into a fully integrated urban neighborhood—one that realizes the potential of the new metro station while building on the existing fabric of the surrounding city. We do not see the new urban block as an isolated collection of buildings, but as the foundation for a future neighborhood: efficient, open, and community-oriented. Modularity is the fundamental principle of the design. The proposal draws on the rational principles of prefabricated housing construction that have significantly shaped the broader Nové Dvory area, particularly the Krč and Kamýk housing estates. We do not reproduce the logic of prefabricated housing literally. Instead, we reinterpret it through the contemporary standards of urban rental housing. The repetition of apartment, building, structural, and façade modules becomes a tool for economic and operational efficiency, while architectural variety is achieved through a combination of access-gallery and stairwell buildings, vertical accents, and different forms of shared spaces. In this sense, the proposal represents a natural continuation of the transformation that has shaped Nové Dvory throughout its history. Repetition is not an end in itself, but a means of achieving economy, efficiency, and long-term adaptability. A modular logic runs through the proposal—from the structural system and the typology of apartments and buildings to the phasing of construction. Prefabricated frame and wall systems enable fast and precise construction, efficient material use, and a high degree of repetition while maintaining architectural diversity. The system also allows for potential adaptation to timber-based structural systems, including CLT panels. The urban composition is based on a combination of different residential building typologies, whose position and height respond to solar orientation, daylight conditions, and the character of the adjacent public spaces. Vertical accents establish a clear and recognizable silhouette while preserving the human scale of the residential environment. The result is a compact yet articulated urban structure with a distinct identity—one that can be implemented naturally in successive phases according to the requirements and constraints of the site. At the heart of the proposal is a permeable, park-like courtyard. Rather than serving simply as a green backdrop to the buildings, it is conceived as a sequence of places with distinct characters—spaces for gathering, play, relaxation, and everyday neighborhood life. Areas for outdoor living, a children’s playground, planting, and community spaces establish a natural hierarchy of public, shared, and more intimate spaces. This sense of community continues within each phase of development through shared amenities and communal rooftop terraces for residents. An active ground floor, oriented primarily toward the streets but also toward the passages connecting to the courtyard, establishes a direct relationship between the buildings and the public realm and supports an active everyday life within the new neighborhood. The result is a proposal founded on a simple principle: build rationally, operate efficiently, and create a place of lasting quality for everyday life.

A strength of the proposal is the creation of a formally coherent, yet not monotonous residential environment—an appropriate response to the character expected of an affordable housing project prepared by a public client, in this case the city. The proposal achieves this quality of the urban environment through the considered use of different residential building typologies that share an analogous modular logic and aesthetic. The division of the development into several independent buildings is another advantage. The jury considers the principal weaknesses of the proposal to be the way certain typologies are employed and the underlying approach to prefabrication. 1. Economic Appropriateness of the Proposal in Terms of Capital and Operating Costs The use of prefabrication represents an economical approach to construction; however, its economic viability under the conditions of a country where prefabrication and prefabricated manufacturing are virtually nonexistent remains uncertain. 2. Degree to Which the Proposal Meets the Client’s Brief The proposal creates a residential environment appropriate to the character of an affordable housing project prepared by a public client. The use of different residential building typologies, while maintaining an analogous modular logic and aesthetic, makes it possible to create a formally coherent yet not monotonous whole. The division of the development into several independent buildings is also an appropriate response to the phased construction anticipated in the brief. 3. Architectural Quality of the Competition Proposal The proposal achieves a high-quality urban environment through an appropriate combination of different residential building typologies, unified by an analogous modular logic and aesthetic. However, the individual typologies are not always used to their full potential. For example, in some cases the access galleries are designed as enclosed or internally oriented open corridors, without taking advantage of the benefit of opening them directly toward the open space of the residential courtyard. The proposal also does not make use of the potential to reduce the number of stair cores in access-gallery buildings connected to corridor-access sections. 4. Technical Quality of the Structural Design of the Competition Proposal A weakness of the proposal is its reliance on prefabrication as an economical construction method in conditions where prefabrication and prefabricated manufacturing are virtually nonexistent. This is also reflected in the structural and formal conception of the vertical landmark as a sculptural object composed of individual cantilevered units with a large surface area.