The southwest town urban design project in Prague

The Southwest Town Urban Design Project in Prague is the thirteenth article on projects from practice. This project is one of the many estates mass housings built between 1950 and 1980 in Prague- Czech Republic. The project was a result of a competition where the winner was announced in 1989 and some alterations and characteristics were changed. The symbols of the previous communist period may have disappeared from urban space immediately after the revolution, but housing estates are one of the most prominent structures to date in the Czech Republic. The latest data shows that estate housing comprises one-third of the housing stock in Czechia and more than 40% of the Prague stock housing market. See Figure 1 the overall masterplan of the southwest town urban design concept layout.

The project site is of exceptional landform links to nearby Prokopske and Dalejske Valley Nature Park. As illustrated in Figure 2 of Google Maps showing the main concept of the urban design project. The project’s main concept is to build the urban design project layout around a metro line, shown in red color, passing through the project from west to east and vice versa. An urban corridor of green space and water beds cutting through from west to east connecting the project, shown by a blue boundary line, to a Prokopske nature park. In this concept, the urban designer avoided the rigid concepts of gray blocks and grid street networks.

Every metro station is designed to include public space and related commercial functions like supermarkets, schools, and other services. The south side of the project on one of the metro line sides and the urban corridor side include various densities of housing blocks, different shapes, different alignments, and different orientations. On the two sides of the Luka and Luziny metro stations residential blocks vary in height and densities ranging from 8 to 14 stories. Each block surrounds an open space of green landscape and parking areas. The parameters of these blocks have a view of the Prokopske Nature Park and the green urban corridor passing through the project site see Figure 3. The architecture of the building gives the project a more appealing view by including various coloring themes for each building and block.

The northern part of the project includes less dense housing of ground- 2 and three-story pitched roof houses open to surroundings, and detached houses, with their direct connection to roads and external urban space and parking lots. One of the parameters of these housing lots has a direct view of the urban corridor cutting through the project. These housing blocks and residential low-rise units were completed in the late 90s. Metro stations and surrounding blocks of services, road network, and parking areas were completed.

Figures 4 and 5 show different views and shots from the project. The various urban densities in the project of the housing blocks on the southwest side. The apparent architecture shows a similar treatment of the building facades in the project by using various color themes and materials.

The south-north side of the metro link and the urban corridor of green space are the central gateway to the development. It includes various administration buildings, office buildings, and cultural centers. In this zone, the new development of various densities includes the town hall building with different architectural themes inserted between two high-rise towers. The architecture of these towers is more in the modern architecture style the construction of these buildings was completed in late 2014. See Figure 5.

The gateway central area of Slunecni Narnesti to the southwest town is gradually constructed like the town hall and the two towers. The church and community center, a private clinic, and a number of mixed-use structures were constructed and implemented in the last two decades. Space was still available for future development of the library, the concert hall, and sports facilities linked to the central park are accomplished and finalized.  

This example shows the future planning theme and how to accomplish many parts of the urban design project within the time, budget, and development scope. The natural way of planning for the urban design project and the future expansion and where to start and where it should reach.