In the competition for the reconstruction of the Eden cultural center, six proposals advanced

Prague – The jury of the international architectural competition for the future appearance of the deteriorating cultural center Eden in Prague's Vršovice has selected six designs that have advanced to the second round. Jan Hamrník, spokesperson for Prague 10, informed ČTK about this. According to him, a total of 16 teams applied for the competition, which also includes a design for the adjacent spaces along Vršovická Street. The result is expected to be known in February.

The former cultural house Eden from 1980 has been unused for nearly 20 years and is in poor structural condition. The Prague 10 city hall did not specify in the competition brief how to deal with the building and left the proposal entirely to the architects. According to earlier statements from city officials, demolition of the building and its replacement with a new structure is also a possibility.

Teams advancing to the second round will now develop their concepts and answer the jury's questions, according to the deputy mayor of Prague 10, Martin Valovič (ODS). According to Igor Kovačević from the association organizing the competition for the city hall, details about the advancing proposals cannot be disclosed until the results are announced in the first half of February.

The competition brief states that the goal "is to design an urban house on the parcel belonging to the cultural house Eden and to present the concept of public spaces for the entire affected area." According to the brief, the building should serve as rental housing on the upper floors, while the lower floors are intended for culture, shops, and services. The design should also concern the entire space along Vršovická Street from the building of Prague 10 city hall to the intersection with U Slavie Street.

The jury of the competition is chaired by architect Martina Buřičová from the atelier caraa.cz, along with Vienna architect Günter Katherl, architect Oana Radeş from the Netherlands, and professor Ivan Kroupa from the AAAD in Prague. Representing the city hall are Valovič, deputy mayor Jana Komrsková (Pirates), and chairman of the committee for the environment and infrastructure Milan Maršálek (VLASTA).

The leadership of Prague 10 is also preparing the reconstruction of the adjacent city hall building, which is estimated to cost 1.35 billion crowns. The district intends to cover most of the costs from a grant from the Ministry of the Environment and a half-billion interest-free loan from the Prague magistrate. It is still unclear when the work will begin; the city hall leadership originally wanted to start this year, but preparations have been delayed. The opposition parties TOP 09 and ANO criticize the leadership of Prague 10 for the delays, claiming they will lead to significant cost overruns.