The building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova has received its occupancy permit

Prague - The Flow Building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street has been approved. Some offices on the upper floors are already occupied by the first tenants, while three floors of retail are expected to be completed during the fall. Tomáš Matýsek, project manager of Flow East, told ČTK today. The facade of the new building will glow white for part of the night.

The Flow Building will offer approximately 15,000 square meters of office space and 6,000 square meters of retail space. All three floors designated for retail will be leased by the discount fashion retailer Primark. According to previous information, the office spaces have been pre-leased by companies Scott & Weber and Graebel Relocation Services.

Matýsek stated that Flow East has an approved building with all technologies in place. Tenants received their spaces empty and unfurnished; all interior facilities and the final appearance of the rented spaces are in their hands. The same applies, according to Matýsek, to the opening schedule or the start of use of these spaces. The opening date for Primark is still not confirmed, he added.

The building has been designed to incorporate passive technologies that allow users to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, to provide ample natural light, and to ensure optimal interior conditions thanks to solar shading and operable windows. In recent days, images of the building illuminated at night, showcasing various colors, have surfaced in the public domain. According to Matýsek, this was a short test of the lighting, and the result will be a white-lit building. The intensity and color of the light, as well as when it will be on or off, were consulted with heritage conservationists, he added.

The Flow Building is rising on the site of a building that was demolished for the new structure. The construction preparations involved civic associations, some experts, and often conflicting decisions from officials. A crucial factor was the Ministry of Culture's rejection to declare the building that originally stood on the site of the new building a cultural monument. Critics argue that the office made this decision primarily out of fear of arbitration due to the aborted investment. The developer's approach was based on previous official decisions that allowed the project's future realization.

The new building also filled the space left by the former Prague Stock Printing House, which had been abandoned and devastated for years. In 2008, the then-owner demolished it and only afterward applied for the removal of heritage protection, which the Ministry of Culture approved. Only a fragment of the building from 1919, which also housed Národní listy, remained. By the time the property was already owned by Flow East, the remaining fragment of the facade was demolished in 2013 based on an assessment by a structural engineer.