In Prague, a space is opening up for the presentation of construction projects

Prague - The Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) is opening the Center for Architecture and Urban Planning (CAMP) on Wednesday. In addition to hosting educational events and discussions, it will inform about major construction projects in the metropolis. IPR's director Ondřej Boháč announced this to journalists today. Until mid-November, an exhibition mapping 63 significant construction projects currently being prepared in the capital city will be held in the hall. This will be followed by additional events. The CAMP will be open to the public free of charge.

The new space is located in IPR's headquarters in the Emauzy area. In the large hall, there is a 24-meter wide projection wall, on which exhibitions of construction projects, results of architectural competitions, or studies of street and brownfield modifications will alternate. Currently, visitors will find information about dozens of planned construction projects, including their locations on a map and visualizations, as part of the exhibition "Prague Tomorrow?"

The establishment of such a space has been in preparation since 2014, when the IPR was formed from the Transformation of the City Development Authority. CAMP features, in addition to the main hall, an amphitheater with a capacity of 110 spectators, where the institute will host lectures and debates, as well as a café and reading room with publications on architecture and urban planning. The city hall invested 14 million in the establishment of the center, and the operation will cost between five to six million per year. IPR intends to cover these expenses from its own budget. CAMP will be open daily except for Mondays from 9 AM to 9 PM.

One of the main goals of the project, according to Boháč, is to create a space in Prague where substantive discussions about planned buildings can take place. "The debate about construction is very heated today, and we see this space as one that Prague has lacked," he stated. The IPR will present significant construction intentions at the center, and a meeting on the Smíchov City project is scheduled for November, in which representatives from the investor company Sekyra Group will participate. The institute will present its own assessment of the project from an urban planning perspective.

The current exhibition, curated by architecture popularizer Adam Gebrian, will be followed by the creation of an online accessible database of larger construction projects in the metropolis. It is not yet clear when the IPR will launch it, but they aim to achieve it within a year. "We would like the database to become a matter of prestige for investors over time and for them to strive for their projects to be included in it," Gebrian mentioned.

The current exhibition will be replaced in mid-October by a presentation of the results of a design competition for new urban furniture organized by the IPR. After that, the Smíchov City project will be introduced. Additionally, screenings, discussions, and lectures will take place in the space. The complete program will be available on the website http://www.praha.camp or on Facebook.

IPR is a municipal institution that deals with urban planning and urbanism. Among other things, it is preparing a new Prague zoning plan. The city has had a similar organization since 1920, when the State Regulatory Commission for Prague and its surroundings was established. From 1961 to 1994, there was the so-called Office of the Chief Architect, which was followed by the City Development Authority. This transformed into the current IPR in 2014. Its annual budget is around 300 million crowns.