The use of Štvanice Island and the revitalization of the surroundings of the Vltava deserve expert discussion

The Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) has initiated discussions with the City Hall of Prague regarding the selection processes related to the revitalization of the entire Vltava riverfront, embankments, and islands. Since these are extensive and valuable areas, the Chamber recommends that the City Hall timely involve the professional public in discussions on such significant topics and strive for the highest quality solutions for the individual locations. The ČKA considers architectural competitions (conceptual competitions) to be the most appropriate approach.

The first impetus for addressing the City Hall (Aleksandra Udženija - Councilor for Property and Business Support; Tomáš Hudeček, First Deputy Mayor of Prague for Urban Planning; Radka Svoboda, Director of the Department of Property Management and Utilization, MHMP; and Petr Svoboda, Head of the Investments Department, MHMP) was the closing of the submission period for price offers in the public procurement process for the "Island for Prague" project, announced on January 31, 2012, by the Department for the Evidence, Management, and Utilization of Property, MHMP (SVM). Interested parties had only seven days to submit their lowest bid and qualifications. The winner of the selection process will only develop a single study for Štvanice Island, which should serve as a center for sports for the general public, focusing on recreational use. In letters to the responsible City Hall officials, the Chamber deemed the procedure inappropriate as it does not yield results commensurate with the significance of this location. At the same time, the Chamber also requested justification from MHMP last week regarding the choice of this public procurement assignment.

The second impetus was the speech by the Mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, at a public discussion on February 15, 2012, at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. At the event, he stated that the city plans to revitalize the entire Vltava riverfront, embankments, and islands (not just Štvanice Island) and that discussions are currently underway with the owners of the relevant plots. According to the ČKA, it is therefore the highest time to address the solutions for these locations, especially as they could respond to citizens' demands for greenery in the city, recreational spaces, and places for community bonding.

The Chamber calls for timely and quality preparation of the assignment, involvement of the professional public, and conducting qualified discussions. To seek solutions for such exceptional places, they recommend announcing conceptual architectural competitions. "A public conceptual competition serves to clarify certain aspects of architectural or urban problems. An undeniable advantage of an architectural-urban competition is the ability to compare a larger number of proposals submitted by various teams entered in the competition (which another type of selection process does not allow). The resulting study can serve as a basis for developing building programs or for the establishment of conditions for subsequent architectural-urban competitions. The results of the competition also serve for further considerations on the topic," reads the letter sent to the responsible officials at the City Hall. Proceeding in the form of conceptual urban-architectural competitions when addressing not only Štvanice Island but all areas in the immediate vicinity of the Vltava could lead to responsible deliberations about public space and its management, fulfilling public interest, and achieving the best solutions for Prague and its citizens.

The approach of the City Hall is even more surprising for the ČKA, considering that, for example, an architectural-urban competition was organized for another similarly functionally focused area in Prague - Strahov, and in the past, an architectural competition for the design of a footbridge between Holešovice and Karlín, which also concerned the solutions for Štvanice, was held.

At this stage, the Czech Chamber of Architects recommended to the client that the study for Štvanice, which they will receive from the winner of the concluded tender, be utilized as a basis for the assignment of a conceptual urban-architectural competition for the island's design. The Chamber also offered assistance, stating that it is ready to consult with MHMP on public procurement processes, the conditions of architectural competitions, and to recommend procedures and experts.