City councilors in Brno approved the future shape of Zelý trh

Brno - Brno Vegetable Market - one of the three main city squares - aims to serve less for parking and more for social gatherings. This is accounted for in the planned reconstruction. City councilors today approved that the area will be modified according to the design of architect Tomáš Rusín and his Atelier RAW. At the same time, they commissioned him to further develop the study, said Deputy Mayor Ladislav Macek (ČSSD) to ČTK today.
The Vegetable Market has been selling fruit for 700 years. The renovation of the square is meant to build on this tradition, but at the same time aims to welcome people who come to the square for history, monuments, or merely passing through. Parking spaces will be reduced, as stationary cars, according to the design authors, spoil the impression of the area. On the contrary, access to the square's natural dominant feature - the Parnas fountain - should be improved. During market days, it is so surrounded by stalls that it is difficult to reach.
To ensure that stalls do not impede pedestrian movement through the square, their arrangement will be changed. The position of each stall will in the future be marked by a bronze point embedded at pavement level. The points will be numbered. "This will create a simple system clarifying pedestrian routes in the square," states the architects' document. The appearance of the stalls should also change. They will consist of a collapsible aluminum structure clad in tropical wood, with a square umbrella possible to place in the center. The architects designed the structure so that it can be easily disassembled and the stalls transported away.
The area in front of the Moravian Museum is also set to undergo significant changes. Builders are to divide it into three levels that accommodate the slope and create a resting corner with trees, benches, and three simple fountains. "This would create a resting place that allows pedestrians in the square to relax, observe the market activities, or consume purchased fruit," state the study's authors.
The city hall has been planning the transformation of the Vegetable Market for a long time, having commissioned a survey to assess how people perceive the square. Most praised its fountain, markets, and the hustle and bustle that gives the square a specific atmosphere. When asked what bothers people most about the market, three out of four respondents pointed to parked cars. The opinions of the people are taken into account in the new design.
According to Macek, the architects will now finalize the project - precisely specifying, for example, the surface treatment of the square and the placement of the parking spaces that will remain there. The start date for the construction is currently unknown. The city is now planning to cut investments because it anticipates lower tax revenues for the upcoming year.