SMÍCHOV CITY

PRAHA
2015

Stroupeznickeho is a spontaneous shopping boulevard today. We do not want anything else but extend it and end it dignifiedly at the ´Dolni obchodni namesti/Lower Market Square´ in harmony with the existing plan.  Its position close to the ´Novy Smichov´ shopping centre is a perfect qualification for establishing a typical urban shopping street. By accumulating these activities in one closed unit, the shopping areas in the location become stratified. We assume ´relations will become denser´ along this shopping street and, on the contrary, loosen in streets perpendicular to the boulevard. Relocating the local shopping hub to the boulevard, a quiet park is established in the middle bordered by a streetscape occupied by activities not attacking the residential function.  Roofs of houses are chamfered always towards the green belt. Thanks to this arrangement, terraced flats can be positioned on the best-quality top stories. The ideal orientation towards cardinal points guarantees that the internal courtyard areas have enough daylight. The maximum number of flats enjoys views to Prague Castle and Vysehrad. A ´green basin´ is established this way. According to the above-mentioned stratification of retail areas, it is not possible to fill the streetscape by only shops and restaurants and this is why using the ground floor for flats is seriously emphasized, too. Situating flats on the ground floor will positively affect the genius loci of the whole neighbourhood.
The SEKCE I block consists of buildings and houses surrounding the internal courtyard’s semi-public area – ´piazzetta´.  The smaller of the office buildings is of a compact form including an interior atrium. The second one is a slab structure serviced by three vertical circulation cores accessed from the piazzetta. The office buildings are positioned within the area so that they would screen the connected houses out from the street noise (Radlicka). The main concept of the SEKCE II buildings is based on the idea of preserving the local memory. We imprint the Smichov’s industrial footprint into the urbanistic concept, the architectural design of houses, and into details of the public space, too. Blocks of houses are a closed form disrupted by a small dynamic cleavage leading to the pedestrian zone. The internal enclosed courtyard visually ties up with the outer public space. Larger retail units facing the main boulevards and smaller commercial multipurpose areas in side service streets occupy the houses’ ground floor.

Category:

Residential houses, Urbanism, Offices and retails

Client:

Smíchov Station Development a.s.

Cooperation:

ARTIGA

Study:

2015

City:

Praha