New headquarters of Česká spořitelna will be proposed by 15 architectural firms

Prague - The new headquarters of Česká spořitelna in the southern part of the Smíchov City project will be designed by 15 firms from eight countries selected by an expert jury. A total of 166 architectural studios applied for the competition announced by the bank in September. František Bouc, the company's spokesperson, informed ČTK today. According to him, the jury will select the winner in May 2018.

The competition will have two rounds. The fifteen selected architectural firms from the Czech Republic, Austria, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden will anonymously present their proposals to a jury composed of representatives of the bank and independent experts. Six designs will advance to the second round.

"Architectural studios that have previously realized projects of office buildings with an area of at least 20,000 square meters could primarily apply. However, the bank decided to allow participation from architects who have not yet had the opportunity to take part in such extensive office projects," stated Bouc. The required area roughly corresponds to half of Wenceslas Square in Prague. Ten selected firms met this requirement, and the jury expects quality proposals from the remaining five.

The architectural study will include an urban concept for the entire southern part of the project. The land is owned by the development company Sekyra Group. The project encompasses a total of 216,099 square meters. According to the company's director Leoš Anderle, it should have five to six phases and could be completed in 12 to 15 years. Total costs are estimated at around 15 billion crowns. "The first phase of the project could start construction at the end of next year," added Anderle.

The new headquarters of the bank is expected to take the form of a campus, which will include not only administrative spaces but also services used by the bank's employees and the public. According to Tomáš Salomon, the head of Česká spořitelna, the company found inspiration for the campus from a similar project by its parent company Erste Group in Vienna.

Česká spořitelna is the largest bank in the Czech Republic by the number of clients, totaling 4.7 million. The main shareholder of the bank is the Austrian Erste Group. The current headquarters of the bank is located on Olbrachtova Street in Prague 4.