Prague, Czech Republic
Office, Retail and Residential
Prague Center is a planned mixed-use community of 38 hectares directly across the Vltava River from the center of Prague. The land is presently used as rail yards by the Czech national railroad, which is seeking to capitalize on the enormous potential of this prime real estate. The land use plan was commissioned in order to demonstrate the viability of slightly over 1,000,000 square meters of mixed prime western grade office, retail, park, and residential development planned in such a way as to integrate with the existing urban fabric without resorting to tall buildings or sharp discontinuities with the surrounding community.
While emphasizing the blending of Prague Center into the surrounding community, it is also important to give the new development a sense of place and identity. The community is served by a central boulevard that runs from a small plaza overlooking the Vltava all the way to the north end, where it terminates with the proposed Prague World Trade Center. With two strong development poles, the intervening boulevard is assured of activity. At the middle of Prague Center, a large rotary marks the intersection of this boulevard and the principal Prague thoroughfare that would be extended across the new development.