Centre Horní Brána in Český Krumlov

Gateway to Český Krumlov. Gateway to the past, to the future, landscape and transport. Sustainably for locals and visitors. The station is a magnet of the place and a point the entrance, the hospital its mainstay. An edge to views and connections. of the city - the gateway, the Upper Gate.

The authors have best fulfilled the objective of the competition and have created a plan for the development of a part of the city that can be gradually implemented. Their design demonstrated a detailed knowledge of the site and their urban design approach created an inspiring range of public spaces and an appropriate scale of blocks. The design provides a direct link between the new development, the riverfront with new pathways, and the unique views of the historic center. The traffic design responds in an urbanizing way to the capacity of cars. The jury appreciated that the designers incorporated this initial handicap into a street network with a regular street or intersection character. The design allows for the phasing and phasing of the urban plan. The bus station can function well in its current form for many years, but the design also allows for its gradual transformation. The hospital has gained a valuable frontage and a fundamental outlook for future development. The proposal is comprehensive, contains all the essential answers to the problems of the area, and has the potential to initiate the city's current development. The jury, therefore awarded it first place.

The real Český Krumlov doesn't fit into the square format of an Instagram photo. We intend to create a place where the inhabitants of Český Krumlov could identify and take it as their own. We don't want to condemn the town center, on the contrary, we want to build on it in a healthy way with a new gateway that welcomes tourists, but also gives a new heart to the actual town. This is where residents can meet, shop, live, work, or just pass through.

The proposal establishes a realistic structure that convincingly develops the existing links in the area. The final composition looks natural and organic. It inserts a wedge of central public space at the intersection of Objížďková and Nemocniční Streets, which opens up to views of the historic core. The overall composition is convincing. The visual contact with the historic core opens up an important context defining the urban‐social relations and continuity of the city. However, the design does not reflect the change in the traffic hierarchy, where after the implementation of the new D3 motorway feeder, Hospital Street will be a major traffic main, which will significantly influence the quality of the new public space. Conversely, the adherence to the line and intensity of Detour Street limits the connection to the Vltava riverfront. The conservative approach delivers a professional design, but does not take advantage of new realities to shift the site into a new context.

In the Middle Ages, Český Krumlov was a fortified town surrounded by a wall with entrance gates that protected it from the dangerous surroundings. - In the Renaissance, the castle was rebuilt into a splendid chateau that represented its politically active owner (the Viceroy of Bohemia) Each town has its own story, based on the needs and requirements of the time it was built and inhabited. And what story should the town of Horní Brána have?

The proposal follows the context of the historic core in its articulation and structure. The second round participant incorporated a new plaza off Hospital Street into the design. The proposal moves the intersection of Detour and Hospital Streets to the northern edge of the study area, but this blocks the connection to the waterfront. Unfortunately, the graphic design of the proposal is very economical and unconvincing compared to the other proposals evaluated. Although it makes relatively sufficient use of the area in terms of its potential, also using the part of Hospital Street above the hospital, the solution of the core of the area is problematic from several points of view. Especially in terms of the location of the "square" around the future roundabout, where it will not be possible to make optimal use of the potential in terms of the parterre and public spaces. The proposal has only very briefly dealt with phasing, and it implies the retention of the bus station without sufficient integration into the future structure or use of its area if the idea of a bus station in this location is abandoned. The proposal is also somewhat inadequate in addressing the wider relationships and context of the site, not to mention the suggestion given for an architectural solution which may not serve the client/developer in a positive way in relation to the public

- Basic thesis: "The charm of the center of Český Krumlov lies in its historical intactness and harmony, which creates a unique genius loci. "Unfortunately, tourism gives and takes life away from the town at the same time → the majority orientation towards tourists and accommodation in the town center results in its depopulation → the change from accommodation to housing is utopian " Opportunity to remedy → intensify housing development within easy reach of the city center → newly proposed housing within the CHB → further exploit existing opportunities see map "possible housing development areas"→ a city of short distances is a city for the people. " A city without people - the homesteaders who live there - is not a city, but an open-air museum → what does Český Krumlov want to be? " A certain centralization of public administration institutions does generate traffic to one place, but it is not a daily need → there is no effect of centralizing the Domoradice commercial zone, which primarily satisfies the daily consumption of the town's inhabitants and thus generates high intra-urban traffic " Commercial opportunities and services of CHB may, on the contrary, weaken the importance of the commercial zone of Domoradice → Horní Brána realizes daily consumption in CHB, Plešivec realizes daily consumption in Plešivec → weakening of intra-urban traffic towards the congested I/39. - Proposal for a solution - To achieve harmony with the surroundings, we approached the design with the understanding that towards the MPR, where the green hillside above the river is a prominent feature, it is essential to preserve this perception. Both when viewed from the embankment and from distant views - the tower, the castle garden. - The connecting "link in the chain" is object 2, which has two faces like Janus's head. Both the environmental, green one, which is connected to the green slope above the river, and the urban one, along Objížďková Street. - And why Janus? In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of gates, doors, and entrances. Building 2 is the gateway to the heart of CHB. - The essential moment and, in our opinion, the positive one is the re-striping of Objížďková Street, which gives us space for the location of building 2, which is not only a link between the natural landscape and the cityscape. It is above all a building for life, both on the house itself and within it. The house should be an amenity that will serve the town's citizens. The best filling would be a mix of cultural and educational institutions that could expand outside the building into its courtyard, which is conceived as an amphitheater offering (besides unrepeatable views) the possibility for cultural and artistic productions against the backdrop of a fairy-tale city. The house is designed as a barrier to provide the greatest possible attenuation of traffic noise.

The jury particularly appreciates the traffic solution that diverts Objížďková Street and frees up the existing waterfront with panoramic views of the historic city center. The clearly defined orthogonal urban intersection with Hospital Street presented in the first phase, unfortunately lost adequate scale with the beveling of the corner. The resulting square, divided into segments in the middle by the intersection, does not create an attractive public space. The proposed buildings, especially Nos. 2 and 6, are oversized and do not allow phasing. Building 2 on the one hand creates an attractive residential amphitheatre with views of the city, but unfortunately does not allow views from the building itself. The extent and quality of the terraces' greenery and maintenance are also debatable. The proposal elaborates on the urban and transport solutions in more detail; the relatively acceptable transport concept is complemented by an already too-specific architectural and design solution. The potential for contact with the city is addressed by the "green amphitheater," which is, however, part of the proposed buildings and appears rather problematic in terms of real estate/development / development potential ‐ where the most valuable value of the view of the historical center is not taken into account / used within these buildings ‐ and it is questionable whether this "public space" of the amphitheater could compensate for this lack. In general, this is a concept for the architectural design of the whole site, rather than the basis of a master planning study that will underpin development for several decades. The chosen concept would fix and define too many aspects in detail, which would probably not give the client the expected effect for long‐term development planning /site concept.