Praha 8 has agreed with Igloo Architects on the project of ZŠ Rohanský ostrov

Prague - The Prague 8 City Hall has reached an agreement with the architectural office Igloo Architekti to create a project for an elementary school on Rohanský Island. The school will have 27 classrooms for 918 students, along with special classrooms and sports facilities. The school will serve as a local institution for children from Karlín and parts of Libeň. The city council approved the cooperation today. Construction could start in 2026 or 2027, with the building expected to be completed in 2029. Costs are expected to be a maximum of 970 million crowns, one-third of which will be covered by private investors building on Rohanský Island. Prague 8 is facing capacity issues in schools, particularly in Karlín.

The Prague 8 City Hall did not reach an agreement with the winner of the architectural competition, AXXI. The reason was the project development cost of 69.5 million crowns, which the office deemed excessively high. Therefore, negotiations began with the second-ranked architectural office from Brno.

"The negotiations took longer than expected, but it helped the contractual conditions, which are favorable for the city district," said Deputy Mayor Radomír Nepil (ANO) to reporters at an informal breakfast today. One of the conditions is that the school's construction phase cannot exceed 970 million crowns, or adjustments must be made during preparation to ensure that the cost does not exceed this amount. Another condition is that any special technologies must be supplied by at least three companies based in the Czech Republic. "We want to oversee the design phase from the start," Nepil stated.

The city hall plans to present the shape and concept of the school in the coming months. According to Nepil, they aim to have the first expanded study completed within six months. After the architectural study, they will begin preparing documentation for the building permit. The construction start is planned for 2026 or 2027. "It will depend on the speed of the approval processes," Nepil added.

On the right bank of the Vltava River next to Karlín and Libeň, the developer Sekyra Group is building a new district, where it plans to construct about 3,200 apartments and eight administrative buildings. The area of Rohanský Island was a riverbed until the first half of the last century, which was later filled in. In addition to private investments, a city park will be created here, which will feature a nearly ten-ton bell referred to as #9801, in memory of the bells confiscated by the Nazis.

In addition to building a new school, the city district plans to equip all current ones with photovoltaic panels. This move is prompted by the ongoing long-term energy crisis. Currently, the city hall has projects for 18 photovoltaic power plants on the roofs of schools and kindergartens in progress. Eight of them are in the final stages, concerning places like ZŠ and MŠ Na Slovance or ZŠ Burešova. The cost of one power plant ranges between three and seven million crowns, depending on the shape and technical conditions.