Town Squares Benešov

Two squares, two townhouses, two rows of trees. The space of the two squares is once again a whole and unified area, with important buildings in the centre and on the edges. It allows for a diverse public life for different age groups and interests. It is a place of meeting, rest, play, culture, celebration, gathering and commerce, a place with and without trees. A new house in the gap, the 'levitating' Town Hall, adds a light volume to the square to allow for indoor events. The backdrop to the hall is the adjacent Tourist Centre House.

The design creates natural focal points for social life in the square (a water feature, a backdrop for cultural and social events, an urban market and a space for relaxation under the tree line). At the same time, it creates places for similar activities in the second plan (the courtyard of the spit). The design successfully integrates two previously spatially separated units of Masaryk Square and Malé Square. It works well with the placement of trees (a double row on the west side of the square using existing lime trees, a double row on the south side of Masaryk Square, a tree line in front of the polyclinic on Malé Square). The trees on three sides frame the whole of both squares and unify it in a natural way. The design also works logically with individual car traffic, which it places naturally on the perimeter of the whole of both squares by the polyclinic, on the south and north sides. Parking is logically located and capacity matched. The panel recommends allowing one-way, capacity-limited through traffic to Vlašimská Street as the beginning of a major urban radial. The design successfully uses existing high quality elements: the paving in front of the Town Hall and develops this motif intelligently in the form of mosaic 'carpets' in front of the individual buildings.

We are creating a residential square with traffic calming and with the ambition to become a pleasant and practical urban centre. From the fragmented and traffic-divided pieces, we are composing a whole area that incorporates the Small Square as well as the town hall and church building, which are currently cut off by traffic. The newly created space is called Masaryk Square. The square is the exclusive link between Charles Square and the rest of the city. We are trying to support this fact and create an undisturbed walk from Karlovo through the square, along Tyršova Street to Konopiště.

The design allows for a wide use of the square area for all desired purposes, which is key in terms of the utility of the proposal. The proposal presents a high quality and sophisticated solution, with above average graphic design. Urbanistically, it appropriately restores a large area of the traditional square with two groups of trees in opposite corners, freeing up the main town hall-church axis and creating space for programming. This solution is a very strong point of the proposal and appealed to the jury at the beginning of the evaluation. Another positively evaluated element is the opening of Vlašimská Street to the corner of Malý náměstí, while the closure of Pod brankou Street is difficult to defend in terms of traffic. Compared to the design that won the 1st prize, the overall design of the southern part of the square appears to be a significant weakness. The jury expressed doubts about the appropriateness and realism of the height of the development of the gap, the shaping of the road adjacent to Tyršova Street and the formal termination of the 'carpet of paving' in front of the savings bank building.

The square of Benešov is one and twofold, as the name suggests. How to work with it? Benesov Town Square should connect people, connect the town, connect the square. We propose to bring the space of the square together by working with the perception of the whole square - physical and non-physical, the orientation and places - the characters of the square and the citywide connections - the links of the square. By reorganizing, opening up the connections and clarifying the overall concept, we create a place for people and their activities.

The jury appreciated the design of the Masaryk and Malé Square as a whole, with the creation of distinctive entry spaces (plazas) in the corners of the square: the town hall, museum, church, and housing estate. However, this concept is not sufficiently developed. Although it does not call for it directly, the design allows for a variety of cultural activities throughout the year. A related negative is the weak description of the proposal, which does not sufficiently represent and explain the chosen solution. The traffic solution is sufficient within the competition; the proposal incorporates parking spaces with trees into the south side of Masaryk Square and the east side of Malé náměstí. The existing trees in the Masaryk Square area are largely respected, with only 9 trees proposed for felling and 6 for planting. The aim of the felling is to open up the view along the longitudinal axis of the square from the Town Hall to the church and the planting of trees on the "church patch" creates a pleasant environment for sitting. The Panel commends this approach, although only a row of trees along the eastern front of the Small Square would have been sufficient. The western tree line unnecessarily divides the space. The jury considers that the solution to the gap with a movable "inter-house" object is bold, although probably difficult to implement, and unnecessarily weakens the whole proposal.

Many squares in many cities suffer from numerous problems that stem from a misunderstanding of their archetypal nature. This is no different in Benesov. The original vacant area from before the 16th century languishes under the unconceptual historical overlays of subsequent eras. These are represented by the poor quality materials of the concrete or asphalt surfaces, the inappropriately placed or completely ill-chosen greenery and the cluster of houses that turned the original and clear figure into two squares. One larger and the other with the potential of a wider street rather than a small square. At the moment, the individual elements in the public space do not have a unified and coherent concept and thus only create barriers that weaken and fragment the spirit of the place of the former "big" square.

The proposal has brought many interesting suggestions for solving the subject of the competition, however, compared to the awarded proposals, it does not reach the necessary criterion qualities. From the outset, the jury appreciated the development of the gap, the respect for the original footprint of the split rail and the realistic approach and respect for the existing condition, for which the jury rewarded the proposal. The jury perceives a disparity in the quality of the design of Masaryk Square and Malé náměstí, with the left side of Masaryk Square being conceptually more successfully designed. Within Masaryk Square, the jury appreciates the opening of the view of the Town Hall building and the freeing up of space for a variable use of the square. It seems inappropriate to stretch the pavement from Masaryk Square into the area of the splash pad. In the case of the small square, the exposed front of houses in front of the polyclinic and the very tight space of the eastern part of the paddock seem inappropriate. The absence of greenery in the Malé Square appears to be debatable. The residential staircase in the southern part of the square is not convincing in its proportions, scale and lack of shade.