The discussion about the future of the English Embankment in Pilsen continued with a professional seminar

A seminar just concluded at the Plzeň City Hall, which was another act in the debate about the future of the English Embankment, the area in front of Komerční banka. The discussion built on the results of an ideas competition from the autumn of last year, in which 42 competing teams presented their opinions. Five out of the six awarded teams presented their proposals to representatives of the professional public, Plzeň city councilors, and other competitors. The reason for announcing the ideas competition was a long-standing debate in professional circles about the usability of the area. “The competition proved that it is possible to develop the area, but it cannot be defined to what extent. From the submitted proposals, it emerged that the most suitable solution is partial development of the area,” explained jury member Irena Langová from the Department of Concept and Development of the City of Plzeň. More than forty listeners participated in the discussion.

The competition proposals could be divided based on the approach to the degree and manner of use of the addressed location into four groups – proposals using the area as a park; proposals using the addressed area as a predominant urban ground floor (with small buildings); proposals developing only part of the area in combination with urban ground floor, and proposals using the addressed area for predominantly or completely developing. The public could familiarize themselves with all evaluated proposals at an exhibition in the Měšťanská beseda in October 2009. At the end of last year, a catalog was also published, which is available to all interested parties on the website of the Department of Concept and Development of the City of Plzeň (.pdf, 3 MB).

The area addressed in the architectural competition has a rich history. Its development in the last two hundred years has mainly involved the building and shaping of a site that connects to the oldest part of Plzeň, the historical core. The area has been known as the English Embankment only since 1924. Until 1921, it was known as the Royal Embankment, and then for three years it was even part of Šafařík's Park.