Stanislav Hubička, the architect and author of the Nuselský Bridge, has passed away

Prague - At the age of 88, architect Stanislav Hubička has passed away, Czech Television reported today. He was the last living author of the design of the Nusle Bridge in Prague. His son Radan Hubička, who is also an architect, confirmed his father’s death to ČTK today. Stanislav Hubička was also the author of the building of the former International Union of Students in Prague and the Vyšehrad metro station, which lies in the Pankrác abutment of the Nusle Bridge. He dealt with urbanism as well as historic buildings. In 2011, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Grand Prix Architects Award.

The Nusle Bridge is one of the key structures in Prague's transport system, but also a significant technical and architectural work. Hubička noted that he and the other authors worked with the idea that it was a bridge in the city, not in the countryside. Therefore, they chose not a more traditional arch, but a straight line as its basic shape, which they believed would suit the character of the city.

Plans for bridging the deep Botič valley were developed as early as the beginning of the 20th century, and several architectural competitions were held. Only the one from 1960 led to construction; it was influenced by the advantages of prestressed concrete, which was developed during the war and began to be used in Czechoslovakia from the 1950s.

The third proposal by engineers Jan Vítek and Miroslav Sůra and architect Robert Bucháček was selected for realization. The final shape was modified by the Project Institute for Transport and Engineering Structures (PÚDIS) with the main project engineer Vojtěch Michálek, transport engineer Svatopluk Cobra, and architect Hubička, who finalized the shape of the bridge. The Nusle Bridge has been under construction since 1967 and was opened in 1973. It is still one of the largest prestressed concrete structures in the Czech Republic.

Stanislav Hubička studied at the Higher Vocational School of Civil Engineering in Prague and from 1948 to 1952 at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering. At that time he focused on functionalism with an emphasis on the purity of form, construction, and a strong artistic element in architecture. Since the 1950s, he passed through several newly established design institutes, eventually settling as the main creative architect at PÚDIS, where besides the bridges over the Nusle Valley, he worked on solving underground transport in the center of Prague, the Folimanka park, and several metro stations on line C.

Signs of his work can be found in the central part of Prague - he worked on the modification of Wenceslas Square, freeing it of tram traffic and incorporating green areas. According to his design, Smetanovo embankment was modified in the section from the National Theatre to Charles Bridge, the courtyard space of Platýz, the space of Republic Square, the space of Alšovo embankment connected to Charles Bridge, and the solution of Letenská terrace related to the Belvedere section and the axis of Paris Street. He also dealt with several land use plans in Prague.

In the 1970s, Hubička designed and realized the building of the International Union of Students (1974) next to Kotěra's Faculty of Law and the Intercontinental Hotel by Karel Filsak at the corner of Paris Street. He subsequently also addressed issues related to heritage and history, such as the proposal for the reconstruction of the Royal Route in the section from Powder Gate to Charles Bridge, with a transition to Mostecká Street. One of the architect's interests was the orientation towards artistic works in architecture, both in public space and in interiors.