Trigema has begun the construction of an apartment building in Karlín designed by the artist Černý

Prague - The development company Trigema today began the construction of an apartment building in Prague's Karlín, designed by sculptor David Černý and the architectural studio Qarta. The costs are 1.25 billion crowns, and the project named Fragment is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2022. Trigema informed the Czech News Agency (ČTK) about this in a press release today. Trigema is simultaneously a developer, investor, and builder.

"Our ambition is through the Fragment project to find a creative connection between quality architecture and contemporary art, and to bring the metropolis back into the limelight of modern construction. We enjoy realizing such buildings that reflect our bold visions for the future. We want to create beautiful, functional, and practical buildings. And also a bit provocative," stated Trigema's board chairman Marcel Soural.

Fragment will serve for rental housing, shops, and services. It will offer 140 apartments with layouts ranging from studio apartments to duplexes with roof terraces and views of Prague Castle. The building will include features such as green roofs, automatic window shading, charging stations for electric vehicles, and a photovoltaic power plant.

Trigema acquired the plot for the project at the beginning of last year. The building is expected to have varying heights at different locations. The highest parts are planned to have nine above-ground floors. The object will connect to the surrounding block development located to the west. On the ground floor, there will be a park and spaces for shops and services that will serve both future residents and local citizens. The basement will include garages, storage rooms, and technical facilities. The upper floors will contain rental apartments. The entire structure will be supported by sculptures or parts of them from David Černý's workshop. The central statue of a girl will be 28 meters tall and will primarily support the new building with her bust.

"The building is composed of unconventional, pixelated surfaces of blocks, that is, fragments, which are subsequently layered into a functional structure and thus fit into a compact whole. Both from the perspective of the exterior and through the designed interiors, the building resonates with its name," added Jiří Řezák, partner of the Qarta architecture studio.

Trigema has been collaborating with David Černý for a longer time. An example is the Trifot sculpture at the Nové Butovice metro station from October 2016. In November 2018, Trigema opened the Cyberdog technology and information center near the Nové Butovice metro station, authored by Černý along with architect Tomáš Císař.

The Fragment building will be located directly opposite the front facade of the historical national cultural monument Invalidovna and the Kaizlovy sady park. To the north of the site in the Rohanský island area, the Rohan City complex of administrative and residential buildings is being prepared for construction by the Sekyra Group development company. To the east, J&T Real Estate is completing the Rustonka administrative complex. The site is located 200 meters from the Invalidovna metro station on line B.