The new center in Orlová is to be developed according to students' designs

Orlová (Karvinsko) - In Orlová in the Karvinsko region, a missing city center should be created within five years. The existing square in the Lutyně area is not cohesive and lacks vibrant life. This was agreed upon by Czech and Swiss architecture students, who today presented their proposals for the redevelopment of Náměstí 28. října to the town council. The city aims to secure approximately 120 million crowns from the state and the European Union for its implementation, said Deputy Mayor Radislav Mojžíšek to ČTK.
    "Orlová lacks a square where people can meet, relax, and enjoy themselves. In the 1950s, the center stopped developing due to mining activities, and a huge housing estate for 30,000 people began to be built," said the deputy mayor. According to him, the new center should be created between the town hall, shopping center, cinema, and the city forest park.
    The redevelopment proposals were developed by architecture students from two universities - the Brno University of Technology and ZHW University in Winterthur, Switzerland. "The square is an eternal issue, which is why we approached future architects who are not yet burdened by professional experience. We did not show them any previous studies on the completion of the square. During a five-day workshop directly at the town hall, they accomplished a tremendous amount of work," Mojžíšek told ČTK.
    He added that the students would finalize their studies and present them to the public within two months. "People will be able to express their opinions on individual proposals through a survey or mini-referendum," he hinted. The city has already received eight million crowns from the state for preparing project documentation, so it has a chance to secure funding for the implementation of the selected study, Mojžíšek added.
    Both Czech and Swiss students agreed that the Orlová square is not cohesive and that people merely pass through it without spending their free time there. "We would enliven the square, for example, by glazing the ground floor of the town hall, where a café would be created. In the practically unused cinema, there would be a youth center with a climbing wall and a gym, and a special skatepark would be placed in front of the cinema. We are also considering a small water feature where people could sit," presented one of the proposals, Swiss student Nicole Wiedersheim.
    Brno students mentioned the lack of a representative building and a place for relaxation and social life in the current square. Therefore, they proposed to build three new buildings in the center that would enclose the square and protect it from the busy Masaryk Street. According to them, a hotel linked to the park should be built in front of the cinema, and the unused cinema could be transformed into a casino. Cars would park in underground garages beneath the entire square.
    The redevelopment of the Orlová square will be the second project involving architecture students. "The Swiss have already worked on a study for a parking garage with a multi-functional sports field on the roof, which is located in the V. etapa housing estate," said city spokesperson Nataša Cibulková. In the future, the city plans to utilize their ideas, for example, in the planned connection between the Orlová forest park and the castle park.