„PENTAGON“ Palmovka

We have been dealing with the area of this part of Libeň for a long time; we are the authors of the first stage of the Porous Transit Block by the Libeň Bridge, which includes the conversion of a historic industrial hall. Even during the design of these buildings in 2011, we missed any coherent urban concept for the adjacent area of the "Pentagon" Palmovka, and therefore we began to prepare an overall opinion on its appearance. We understood this as a necessary condition for establishing a concept of overall links, but mainly for the proper supplementation of the missing permeability within the "partial" task of the Palmovka Park site.
During the course of 2019, after the completion of this phase – the Palmovka Park III, IV, and 0 buildings – it also became apparent that the plan for the tunnel bypass of Libeň North, leading into Voctářova street, ceases to be a barrier for completing the initiated Libeň block referred to as Palmovka Park.
It seems almost unbelievable that between the blooming Karlín and the awakening Libeň, in the vicinity of the citywide significant metro and tram station, just a few hundred meters from the banks of the Vltava, there exists a huge, abandoned, empty area, where not only is there still no positive change occurring, but it is not even urbanistically prepared: on the opposite side of the bridge's foreland adjoining the Palmovka Park site, there still exists no relevant urban concept after eight years. Therefore, we decided to refine our considerations and provide a material based on our long-term knowledge of the area for broader discussion.
We have set the basic principles of our urban design to establish an appropriate intensity of the urban environment in the Libeň "pentagon" space, to develop a city-wide relationship between the Libeň Bridge and Libeň, corresponding to the current sober approach to motor traffic, the perception of the specific character of the historic block development in Libeň, the maximum utilization of existing preserved historical objects to maintain the memory of the place, and finally to create quality park areas and public space in the footprint of the original railway track to Těšnov, allowing for easy and pleasant passage through the area for pedestrians.