The exhibition will present designs for the appearance of Horní náměstí in Opava

In addition to the existing three proposals from Chapman Taylor, Petr Franta Architekti, and Qarta, which were previously selected by the expert jury and the residents of the city, four new architectural firms have been invited – A.LT Architekti, Atelier 38, Maura, and New Work.

Opava – Proposals for the design of a section of Opava's Upper Square will be presented at a special exhibition. At this exhibition, people can vote and thus support the proposal they personally like the most. The result of the voting will also be taken into account by the expert committee, which will ultimately choose the winner of the competition. The exhibition in the tent directly in the square will last from this afternoon until September 5. Tomáš Klíma from the development group Crestyl informed ČTK about this.
    The exhibition presents proposals from seven architectural firms that were tasked with designing the new development of the southwest street front of the Upper Square. It will be open every day, including weekends, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Residents of Opava can vote directly at the exhibition or via the email address [email protected].
    The search for the most suitable architectural proposal for the appearance of the Upper Square has been ongoing since last autumn. From the original six proposals, the committee selected six. Later, three additional architectural firms were invited. "This was done at the request of the city, which wanted to expand the selection options. Now, seven proposals are processed in strictly defined views and visualizations so that they are comparable,” Klíma stated.
    He added that Crestyl will present the winning variant to the city as its proposed solution. "The goal is for the project to fully correspond to the ideas of the city and its citizens. We believe that the proposals will appeal to the public and city representatives, and together we will create a representative and functional square,” Klíma asserts, noting that the development group is covering all costs associated with the architectural competition.
    The winning proposal will ultimately be selected by an eleven-member expert committee. This will include representatives from the city, heritage conservationists, and the developer. The committee also includes architect John Eisler, who designed the renovation of the former Trade Fair Palace for the National Gallery in Prague and participated in the designs for the Museum of Applied Arts and the Ethnological Museum in Frankfurt or the Yale University Art Library. Alongside him, the proposals will also be evaluated by Josef Pleskot, who is among the most respected contemporary Czech architects.