Rokycany will announce a competition for the design of a gym and school canteen for 190 million CZK

Rokycany - Rokycany plans to build a gym and dining facility for elementary schools in the city center at an estimated cost of around 190 million crowns. The city is now announcing an open two-phase architectural competition in collaboration with the city architect. The gym, school kitchen, and dining area will primarily serve the T. G. Masaryk Elementary School and the school on Míru Street, and in the afternoon, the facility will be available to the public as a community center, said Mayor Tomáš Rada (Rokycanští patrioti) to ČTK today.

The construction is planned on land between the two elementary schools covering a total area of 6600 square meters. Both schools lack sports facilities. "We have long been addressing inadequate and insufficient spaces for physical education in Rokycany. The city has been considering a gym in this location since the 1990s. However, outside of school hours, the gym will also be accessible to the sporting public, particularly the Sokol organization and other clubs and groups," he stated. The historical building of the Sokol hall, which previously served as a space for public exercise and sports, is in a state of disrepair and the city plans to rebuild it. It is intended to be transformed into a cultural facility.

The designated area is located in the city center in close proximity to two elementary schools and one kindergarten, and it is part of the complex of the T. G. Masaryk Elementary School. The school garden is currently being used as a garden with an outdoor sandpit. The proposed solution must respect the urban context, particularly the relationship to the building structure of the historical core. The proposed construction should not significantly restrict the surrounding residential and family homes, including their gardens.

According to city architect Štěpán Kubíček, developing the design for a new school building in the historical center is an exceptional architectural challenge. "Defining the architecture of a substantial volume school gym in the context of the scale of the surrounding development is, in my opinion, a complex and interesting task. I am very pleased that the city leadership decided to organize an architectural competition as the most suitable way to select a designer," Kubíček said.

An integral part of the construction, which is expected to be completed by 2026, is, according to Deputy Mayor Jiří Sýkora (ANO), also the enhancement of the related public space in the historical core, which is a city heritage zone. The construction costs are now estimated at 190 million crowns excluding VAT.

The last day for submitting proposals for the first phase of the architectural competition is June 5, and the submission date for competition proposals in the second round is September 11.