The competition for the future of the center of Brno was won by UNIT architects

Brno - The Brno City Council today approved the results of the open international urban planning competition for the new Brno railway station located in the area beneath Petrov. The competition received 58 proposals from Brno, Prague, Europe, the United States, and China. In intense international competition, the team UNIT architects won, offering a realistic concept for gradual development in the southern part of the city center, featuring an attractive central park, an emphasis on diversity and quality of housing, and respecting the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Roger Riewe, the chair of the jury and an architect who renovated the main station in Innsbruck and the Silesian Museum in Katowice, states that the competition was both urban and architectural, adding: "That is why it was interesting, but also very demanding, as Brno requested a scenario for its future. In recent years, there has not been a competition of such scale and for such a large area in Europe, which confirms its significance on the international stage."

All submitted proposals from both the 1st and 2nd rounds, including the winning proposal, will be presented to the public at the opening of the exhibition on May 10, 2016, at 7:00 PM in the House of Arts of the City of Brno. The exhibition will last until July 24, 2016. It will also include a series of accompanying events - for example, on May 24, 2016, at 7:00 PM, the opening of an exhibition of spatial studies for the new Brno railway station in the relocated position, processed for Brno by 7 invited studios, or on June 2, 2016, at 6:00 PM, the presentation of all proposals awarded in the international competition Future of the Center of Brno. The competition proposals will also be presented during the Museum Night on May 21, 2016, when guided tours with the competition organizer will take place every hour from 6:00 PM until midnight. Starting from June 9, discussions on the theme of the development of the city center will be held every Thursday at 6:00 PM in the House of Arts.

1st prize (1,800,000 CZK)
UNIT architects: Filip Tittl, Michal Kohout, David Tichý, Šárka Doležalová, Marie Gelová, Luboš Klabík, Filip Lux, Adéla Medunová, Lukáš Tittl, and Jitka Žambochová

2nd prize (1,200,000 CZK)
consequence forma: Janica Šipulová, Martin Sládek, Franz Sumnitsch, Irene Djao-Rakitine, Lea Dostálová, Barbora Srpková, Veronika Kotková, and Eliška Lichtnerová

3rd prize (750,000 CZK)
Atelier M1 architects: Pavel Joba, Jakub Havlas, Jan Hájek; collaboration: Jakub Straka, Vojtěch Šaroun, Martin Utíkal, Michal Tichý, and Patrik Kotas

The proposal awarded first prize "instead of a newly built quarter all at once provides a long-term sustainable scenario for gradual development: it allows the surrounding neighborhoods to grow into the previously empty area." The jury added in its assessment that it is a proposal that "creates a meaningful system of spatial division, where each location has its natural center. The pre-station area has an appropriate human scale and is well connected to the station and the entire newly developing area to the south. The proposal brings very good and informed thinking about the needs of Brno and the individual places of the addressed area with a sensitivity to the real emergence of a multifunctional, socially sustainable city."
Regarding the proposal placed second, the jury particularly appreciated the "clear strategy for increasing the density of the surroundings so that the central park could remain relatively empty" and "the pleasant scale of the urban public space in front of the station."
For the proposal awarded third prize, the jury also appreciated the clear vision and diversity of the new quarter and, last but not least, "as a great advantage of the project, the jury perceives the concept of reusing the historic buildings of the original station and Little America, as well as revealing the arches of the viaduct."

The following studios and teams also advanced to the finals, i.e., the second round of the competition:
Erick van Egeraat Beheer / Design Erick van Egeraat /(designed by) Erick van Egeraat / WSP Engineers London: Erick van Egeraat, Willem van Genugten, Zita Balajti, Harry Kurzhals, Juriaan Calis, Pere Maicas, Egle Kalonaityte, Reiner Simons, Viktor Szemes, Csaba Rajnai, Dave Darnell, Andrew Cameron, Enrico Isnenghi, Dan Watson, Sarah Whydle, Catherine Coutts, and Rob Kinch

Šimon Vojtík, Michal Petr, and Jana Urbanová, collaboration: Vojtěch Dvořák

Michal Palaščák, Michal Poláš, Martin Bělkovský, Miroslava Šešulková, Kryštof Foltýn, Norbert Obršál, Lukáš Černý, Tomáš Babka, and Jan Kristek

BLAU: Ramon Bernabe Simo, Tomáš Labanc, Georgia Adamou, Alfonso Bertrán Gil, Sonia Billiard, Albert Casas, Begum Cehreli, Lazar Djuric, Izabela Franczak, Robin Gringhuis, Ferran Iglesias, Paulina Kasza, Roman Kekel, Lucile Kopczynski, Sophia Kunze, and Syrine Siala, collaboration: Ferran Casanovas, Peter Gero, Playtime, and Gillem Catalan

Plasma studio: Eva Castro, Holger Kehne, Ulrike Hell, Chuan Wang, Andrea Cadioli, Pietro Scarpa, Yunya Tang, Jingshuang Zhao, Vittoria Bellassai, Valentina Mancini, Giulia Mariotti, and Edoardo Nieri

The competition involved 58 studios, mostly from Europe. Over 350 urban planners, architects, engineers, and other professionals worked on the competition proposals, contributing more than 160,000 hours of work for the city of Brno over several months.