Hronov: Spacial Study Freiwaldovo square

Freiwaldovo Square is surrounded on the west by a park, on the southeast by a village of cottages, on the north by a town of lofty houses, and on the east by a housing estate. The original road from Hronov to Velké Poříčí runs through the centre of the area. All these typologies make sense in the town, even on the scale of a few blocks of the area, where they are developed in different ways in the design for today's situation. Thus, around Freiwaldovo Square there will be housing for the elderly, urban terraced houses for family housing, apartment buildings allowing for diversity of housing (size, ownership form) and with a lively parterre in the most exposed places, a park not only with playgrounds for children and teenagers, and overall a city permeable for all.

The jury appreciates the realistic and rational urban composition of the proposal and the combination of typologies that responds to the context of the site while allowing for an efficient and economical solution to traffic calming. At the heart of the proposal is the sophisticated design of Husova Street, which connects Freiwald Square to the street space and develops it further to the south in the form of the emerging square in front of the retirement home. In relation to Freiwald Square, the jury appreciates the preservation of the historic footprint of the area and the definition of the street frontage around the square. The jury sees the large garden to the senior citizens' home as valuable, as well as the design of its parterre. The design works with a clear hierarchy and a clear delineation of the ownership of the undeveloped spaces. It concentrates the public spaces along Husova Street, while in the part of the proposed development it uses public spaces sparingly ‐ for the benefit of the city and subsequent maintenance. The jury also appreciates the work with the broader relationships and continuity of the landscaped area to the other side of the river, emphasizing improvements by connecting them, while welcoming the return of the embankment as a subtle water feature. The Jury finds the detailed shaping of the public spaces of the landscape section itself to be a weakness that requires detailed elaboration with emphasis on a convincing landscape concept. The varied and adequate mix of typologies is positively assessed, but the question remains as to the feasibility of the proposed three‐storey terraced houses in the context of Hronov.

A place that draws on the context of its surroundings with a sophisticated hierarchy of public spaces built on the symbiosis of landscape and city, these are the basic ideas of the urbanism of the new part of Hronov. The proposed development is based on clear rules with respect for property conditions and the pending zoning plan, improves the permeability and usability of the area, is friendly to its users and creates a place for everyday life, shopping, coffee in the garden in front of the café or relaxing in the shade of the trees.

The carefully crafted design is closely related to the growing urban fabric and offers a clear delineation of the urban development. However, the decision to insert two more cross streets into the area here leads to the creation of overly dense and fragmented blocks with unclear use of the spaces around the houses. The jury finds the too small scale of the individual volumes particularly unconvincing in terms of economic sustainability. The solution to the densified residential development is conditional on the proposal for a parking house, which is an unrealistic solution for the town of Hronov and does not correspond to the character of the land use. The jury highly commends the proposal for its well‐managed work with public space, building on the existing network of public spaces and creating a diverse mosaic of spaces that supports and develops the quality of important places. The jury is positive about the sophistication of the landscaping and the proposal to re‐create the millrace, which, however, appears too costly for the city.

The town of Hronov is looking for a foundation on which to build its future in cooperation with its inhabitants.A solid foundation can be built by learning about the history and values of the town, which will also create and strengthen the identity of its inhabitants. The Freiwaldovo Square Urban Design Competition and its expected outcome is a great opportunity and a wonderful chance to achieve this.

The design presents a clear conceptual approach of three compositional elements consisting of a city block, a formally distinctive senior citizen's home and a nature‐oriented waterfront. However, the individual elements remain isolated and do not create a legible urban space. The jury appreciates that the proposal focuses on both the macro and micro scale of the individual sites, but there is no legible connection between the site and the city and instead of being integrated, the space is further fragmented. The chosen shape of the retirement home is inappropriate in the context of the city and the jury finds it unconvincing with regard to the required content and capacity. Hus Street does not find an adequate continuation in the open structure of the development. From a landscape point of view, the jury very much appreciates the proposal for a rain garden with convincing ecological potential. The structure of the landscape part of the waterfront is detailed, but its character does not correspond to the local context. The design of the urban block with point development is positively assessed by the jury from a spatial point of view. However, it perceives the unclear demarcation of public and private spaces within the area, including the area around the senior citizens' home, as problematic.