Prior Trenčín Shopping Gallery

Year2023

CategoryCivic Amenities, Retail

LocationTrenčín, Slovakia

StatusIn progress

The Prior shopping gallery is located right next to the historic centre of Trenčín, between Vajanského and Palackého streets. Its position at the interface between the compact urban fabric and newer development makes it an important element of the wider town centre.

Today, the existing building stands as a freestanding solitaire with only a loose relationship to the surrounding historic street frontage. The design therefore extends it to the north-west, filling the gap site and completing the missing part of the street frontage.

The new volume follows the scale and character of the surrounding buildings and helps integrate the shopping gallery better into the urban structure. The extension also strengthens its relationship with public space and creates a more coherent urban environment instead of an isolated solitary building.

The aim of the design is to connect the existing retail function with the urban logic of the historic centre and to create a building that responds more naturally to its immediate surroundings and the character of the street.

Design team	Martin Krupauer Pavel Kvintus Martin Sedmák Daniel Jeništa Michael Vojtěchovský Diana Švec-Billá Matúš Pástor

Change of use

The building is undergoing a fundamental change of use. The former department store is being converted into an apartment building, retaining a commercial function on the ground floor.

The ground floor houses retail units of various sizes, with entrances from Vajanského Street and from the passage to the river next to the neighbouring Laugário building.

Housing and courtyard

The residential upper floors are arranged in two volumes around a central courtyard. There are four main entrances for residents: two from the pedestrian zone of Vajanského Street and two from Palackého Street.