Prague - The building that has been under construction since last year at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street in the center of Prague will bear the name The Flow Building. The development company Flow East had previously referred to the project as the Flower House, but since its goal was to capture in the building "the spirit of the city's continuous flow, its flow", a name change was adopted. This was communicated today by representatives of the developer to the ČTK.
Moreover, the facade of the emerging corner building will have imagined waves of energy, which were an inspiration for the architects during the design of the building.
"Prague has established itself as one of the leading major European cities. Streams of investments flow here, significant business transactions take place, the city experiences an influx of talents, new technologies, ideas, and creative thoughts from all over the world. Our goal was to capture the spirit of this continuous flow of the city, its 'flow', right in our new building on Wenceslas Square," said James Woolf, director of Flow East, regarding the new name of the building.
The building, which will have nine above-ground and three underground floors, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020 and will offer office and retail spaces. However, the intention to construct the new building has been met with negative reactions from the beginning. Civic associations, some experts, and often conflicting decisions from officials intervened in the preparation of its construction. A crucial point was the refusal of the Ministry of Culture to declare the building, which originally stood on the site of the current under-construction building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street, as a cultural monument. According to critics, the office made this decision primarily out of fear of arbitration due to a thwarted investment. The developer based its actions on previous decisions of the authorities that allowed for the project's future implementation.
The new construction will also fill the site of the former Prague Joint Stock Printing House, which had been abandoned and devastated for many years. In 2008, the then-owner demolished it and only then requested the removal of its heritage protection, to which the Ministry of Culture complied. Only a fragment remained of the building from 1919, where Národní listy was also based. When the property was already owned by Flow East, the remaining fragment of the facade was demolished in 2013 based on a structural engineer's assessment. In contrast, the former corner building from 1880 was in good technical condition.
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