Plzeň will announce an urban conceptual competition for the wider city center

Plzeň - The single-round competition, which aims to bring an urbanistic idea for the broader city center, will be announced by the Plzeň city hall on December 12. The material is to become the fundamental basis for the development of a new urban plan for Plzeň, which must be approved by 2015, said the mayor's assistant Petr Rund (ODS) to ČTK.
    A similar concept has so far been lacking for the city council and this is reflected in disputes and discussions regarding the construction of a new shopping center on the site of the Cultural House on Americká Avenue. The city hall has decided to hold this competition partly due to repeated discussions and debates about various architectural solutions for the center.
    "We will announce a competition for the central part of the city so that we know the architects' opinions on how the city should develop in the future," noted Rund. The city should thus receive certain boundaries for future architectural development. The material should, for example, indicate architects' ideas about busy roads in the center, about completing the construction, and so on.
    The opposition also agrees with the announcement of the competition, which architects have been requesting for several years. "We definitely welcome the announcement of the competition; Plzeň needs a concept for its further development," stated the head of the city council's control committee Ondřej Ženíšek (TOP 09).
    Competitors must submit their proposals by March 16, 2012, and the results of the competition will be announced by March 28, 2012.
    The winner can receive a financial reward of up to half a million crowns, while the second place is allocated 250,000 and the third place will be rewarded with 150,000 crowns. The jury will consist of four independent architects and three representatives of the city's politicians and officials. The competition conditions and the jury members must be approved by the council.