On the site of the dilapidated villas in Letná, five new buildings could be constructed

Letna Office Park, Marani Architects, 2015

Prague - On the site of dilapidated villas at the border of Prague's Letná, Bubenč, and Dejvice at the Špejchar intersection, five separate office buildings could potentially be built in the future. Today, the landowner, British developer Lordship, presented its project Letná Business Center. This is already the fifth project for the utilization of this area. The previous ones failed either due to concerns about the project's size or because of the historic villas that stand there.

"We started gradually purchasing the land, including the villas, in 2003, when the houses were already in a significantly poor technical condition. Unfortunately, since then it has not been possible to find a solution that would allow the project to commence," stated Václav Matoušek, director of Lordship. When asked when and if construction would begin on the site, he said it is currently impossible to answer.

Since the last project, which planned for a single large building, the investor stepped back at the beginning of 2015. The winner of the competition for the new project was architect Vít Máslo from CMC architects. His office also contributed to the conceptual review titled Municipal Boulevard Letná - Dust Bridge, commissioned by the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague (IPR) in 2014.

According to Matoušek, each of the five buildings should be designed by a different architect, although externally they should have a similar appearance. "We are negotiating with prominent figures in contemporary Czech architecture such as Eva Jiřičná, Josef Pleskot, Karel Mrázek, or Pavel Hnilička. We will also establish a committee to evaluate the proposals. We have also proposed one of the advisory positions to architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš," Matoušek added.

Architect Máslo described the area, which is bordered by a railway track on one side and the busy Milady Horákové street on the other, as very complicated. "We suggested to Prague 6 that one of the villas could be preserved. However, today they cannot even be rented out, even though the rent is relatively low," Máslo added. According to him, the renewal of buildings in the city center is beneficial. "Nowadays, fewer and fewer buildings are constructed here, as new developments are pushed to the periphery," he added.

At street level, shops, restaurants, or a relaxation zone are planned, while offices would be located on the upper floors. Máslo could also imagine apartments here, but that faces legislative obstacles, primarily the noise regulation. The height of the buildings should not exceed 28 meters, and the roof would, according to IPR's requirements, match the level of the residential building Molochov, which stands next to the Sparta stadium towards Letenské náměstí.

The new shape of the project was also evaluated by the present councilor for transport, Petr Dolínek (ČSSD). "I am an advocate for new architecture to be created in Prague because the city should not be a preserved open-air museum. I am glad that the investor is adjusting the project so that there is no doubt that they have the same interest as Prague. That is to find a modern, aesthetically valuable, and simultaneously considerate solution," Dolínek added.