The new zoning plan will designate several locations for hundred-meter buildings in Prague

Prague - The upcoming new Prague zoning plan will allow the construction of one-hundred-meter towers in locations in Roztyly, Chodov, Bohdalec, Vysočany, and Nové Butovice. Slightly shorter buildings will be permitted in areas in Pankrác, Žižkov, Budějovická, Opatov, Nové Dvory, Bubny, Pelc-Tyrolka, and Kolbenova. This was stated by Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (STAN) to reporters today. The so-called Metropolitan Plan is expected to be approved by the councilors at the end of May.

According to Hlaváček's advisor Zdeněk Völfl, the main criteria for selecting locations were the protection of Prague's panoramas and proximity to airports. The planned construction of high-rise buildings in Pankrác previously triggered discontent not only from civic associations, but it was also debated by conservationists. The question of whether high-rise buildings can or cannot be built in Prague has also been addressed in the past by the UNESCO committee. The historic center of Prague has been on its list since 1992.

The current zoning plan in the metropolis, which has been in effect since 1999, does not regulate building heights, according to Hlaváček, and this is only resolved at later approval levels, leading to conflicts. "Without height regulation, this issue will turn into some kind of cultural battle," the deputy stated. Therefore, the new document clearly defines locations where it is possible to build upwards.

Völfl added that regulation is planned in the form of squares with sides of 100 meters, which cover the entire area of the city and establish ranges of permissible building heights. "We expect that builders will prefer the upper limit," he said. The systematic limit that will not be exceedable without changing the plan will be a height of 100 meters.

"The area with the greatest potential for high-rise buildings is the southeast of the city," said the advisor. For example, in Pankrác Plain, where 100-meter buildings already stand, the new plan, in agreement with conservationists, sets a maximum height between 60 and 70 meters.

The plan permits 100-meter buildings in Roztyly and Chodov, near the Eden train stop and at the Českomoravská metro station. Construction will also reach 100 meters at the Nové Butovice metro, where a building even taller than that is planned, featuring a sculpture of a shipwreck by artist David Černý at 135 meters, making it the tallest in the country. According to Hlaváček, this building will be constructed even if the Trigema company does not manage to obtain the permit before the new zoning plan comes into effect, even though it exceeds the hundred-meter limit.

Eighty-meter buildings will be allowed in Nové Dvory, Budějovická, and Brumlovka, as well as at the site of the former Telecom in Žižkov, where Central Group plans a tower designed by architect Eva Jiřičná. Up to seventy meters will be allowed in locations in Opatov, Pelc-Tyrolka, Kolbenova, and at the Nádraží Holešovice metro station.

Hlaváček added that once the document is approved, he would like to push through a change requiring investors to announce architectural competitions for high-rise buildings over approximately 40 meters, as permitted by the new building law, similar to how it works in Copenhagen.

Although the plan includes towers, according to the deputy, it is not true that the improvement of construction and housing conditions in Prague depends on the construction of high-rise buildings. He maintains that generally, the density of settlement is low in the metropolis. Additionally, due to the geomorphological and historical nature of the city, caution with tower construction is appropriate.

"What matters is not high-rise buildings, but what the average building density is and whether we are creating a city of short distances with medium-height buildings," Völfl added to this. He identifies the problem as the fact that more than half of the buildings in the metropolis are only two stories high, which is insufficient. The Metropolitan Plan is set to have 60 percent of new building plots with four or more floors, said the architect.

The preparation of the Metropolitan Plan was approved by the council in 2013; five years later, the city's Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) published its draft, followed by three rounds of public discussions and comments, the last of which the municipality is now completing. According to the current plan, city councilors are expected to vote on the new plan on May 28.