In Žďár nad Sázavou, architects will propose possible modifications to part of the center

Žďár nad Sázavou - The Žďár municipal office will organize an architectural competition for modifications of areas in part of the center adjacent to the square. This is a large area with socialist-style buildings, including shopping centers, parking lots, and parks. According to the city’s expectations, the public could become acquainted with the best proposals by June next year. The mayor, Martin Mrkos (Žďár - a lively city), told this to journalists today.

"The purpose of the competition is to find the most suitable solution for the entire area," said the mayor. It is an open competition that anyone who meets the professional requirements can enter. A professional committee, which will include architects Michal Kohout, David Mikulášek, and landscape architecture specialist Zdeněk Sendler, will evaluate the proposals.

The competition will concern more than a ten-hectare area from the main road crossing the Republic Square and shopping centers towards the polyclinic, industrial school, and housing estate. The municipal office expects the costs for modifications of the entire location to be in the tens of millions, which is why it plans to undertake the work in phases. It would like to start with a sidewalk between the main road and the shops in the square, followed by modifications to the adjacent passage and atrium behind the shopping centers. "For the remaining parts, we are already talking about a medium-term, long-term horizon," Mrkos said regarding the possible further progress of the work.

The city will allocate 800,000 crowns for the architectural competition, including rewards for the jurors. It will award the five best proposals that advance to the second round. "The winner will receive 200,000 crowns, second place 150,000," said the mayor. The author of the third-best proposal will receive 100,000 crowns, and the remaining two will receive 50,000 each.

The main part of the Žďár Republic Square was repaved and newly renovated five years ago, and a granite fountain by sculptor Jiří Plieštik, symbolizing the five springs of rivers in the Highlands, was added. According to the municipal office's data at the time, the construction work cost 28 million crowns, funded by the union.