New leadership of Prague 1 wants to adjust the project at Masaryk Station

"Across the coalition we hold the view that the plans as they stand today are too oversized, with proposed building masses that are too large," said the future councilor of Prague 1, Petr Kučera (Green for One). He added that the location is situated in the center of the Prague basin and, considering the warming climate, is exposed to the greatest overheating during the summer months. "We would like to strive for the area to be developed in a more appropriate manner, more airy and greener," explained Kučera.

Coalition representatives further stated that they want to negotiate with the investor about possible adjustments to the project, although they did not want to anticipate what demands they would bring into the negotiations. The architect and urban planner Tomáš Vích, who will sit in the council for the Pirates, will also address the issue as the chairman of the relevant committee. The coalition would also like to involve residents in discussions about the final form of the area. The investor held a public consultation in October, during which people could express their opinions on the project.

The new coalition also presented its program priorities and the composition of the council today. It aims to focus, for example, on improving the functioning of the office towards citizens, depopulation of the center, issues related to public order and the negative impact of tourism, care for seniors, development of culture in cooperation with associations, support for small shops in the central streets, or calming car traffic. The parties want to sign the coalition agreement just before the inaugural council meeting, which will take place on Monday, November 19.

Penta's project at Masaryk Station is based on the design of the architectural studio of Jakub Cigler; the Studio Zaha Hadid Architects is the conceptual architect. The building, according to Hadid's design, is intended to resemble the tracks on its façade, which will symbolically end in a transition to a structure reminiscent of a golden tower. The British architect of Iraqi origin was the first woman to win the most prestigious international award for architects - the Pritzker Prize. She died in March 2016 in the USA.

The elections in the first city district were won by Prague 1 Sobě with 21.3 percent of the votes, securing six mandates. The ODS came in second with 17.9 percent and five seats, and third were the Pirates with 15.6 percent and four mandates. TOP 09, which previously governed together with the ODS and ČSSD, defended seven seats including the mayor's position but only won three mandates. ANO also made it into the council with two seats.