The square of Bohumil Hrabal in Palmovka will be relocated

Prague – The square named after Bohumil Hrabal, located at the bus terminal near the Palmovka metro station, will be moved. A residential project, One Palmovka, is set to be built on the former terminal site, and a new square bearing the name of the famous writer will be created south of the project on Na Žertvách Street. The Prague 8 city council informed about this. The design of the new square, being created by the architecture studio UNIT, will be completed in 2022. The space will include an art installation.

According to the city council's information, construction of the new square is expected to start in 2023 so that it is completed simultaneously with the residential project's completion two years later. Landia Management and Discovery Group plan to build the block of houses with apartments and shops at Palmovka.

Architects have now announced a competition for an artist who will place an installation in the space that refers to the works of Bohumil Hrabal. According to city council information, the following artists have advanced to the second round: Pavla Sceranková/Dušan Záhoranský, Dominik Lang, Aleš Novák, and Dagmar Šubrtová. The result will be announced at the beginning of September.

"The competition will not bring a specific form of the artwork or installation. That will be determined only through further collaboration between the architects and the artist. However, we can rule out that the end of the entire creative process will result in a statue or figurative sculpture. That would be contrary to the very reference of Bohumil Hrabal," stated Marie Foltýnová, head of the public sculpture management department at the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague.

The entire surroundings of Palmovka is expected to undergo gradual transformation. The city and its Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) are preparing a spatial study that will address the area of 138 hectares around the metro station. One issue is the unfinished Palmovka Center in the southwestern part of the area, where the city was supposed to have a new headquarters. Prague 8 approved its construction in 2010, but it has not yet been completed, for example, due to disputes with builders. What will happen to the shell of the building is still unclear.