Florenc is a transformation
zone located in the centre of Prague, between Nové Město and Karlín, that is at
the boundary between Prague 1 and 8 Municipal Districts. In the past, there was
the town fortification in this area, the demolition of which in the mid-19th
century gave way to the construction of a freight railway infrastructure. This
is the reason why this area has not been fully developed to date.
The area surrounding the site is characterised by dense morphology, which has partly developed organically and partly consists of block structure dating back to the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Public spaces and centralities are clearly defined by these blocks.
A significant area of Florenc is part of the Prague Conservation Area, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while a smaller area falls within the Karlín Conservation Zone and the buffer zone of the World Heritage Site. There is also Masaryk Railway Station, a cultural heritage site, in this area.
The site is surrounded by many historically and architecturally valuable buildings and cultural heritage sites, which are complemented by contemporary architecture. New buildings have already been constructed within the Florenc transformation zone: the Masaryčka building at Na Florenci Street, Hotel One in Hybernská Street and the Bastion building in Křižíkova Street. Next to the competition site, there are important cultural institutions: Museum of the City of Prague, Karlín Music Theatre and the industrial buildings of the former locomotive depot at Masaryk Railway Station, where the National Technical Museum plans to establish a railway museum.
Florenc and the surrounding area are an important national and European transport hub. It includes the Masaryk Railway Station, the Florenc Bus Terminal and the Line B and Line C underground stations. There are tram stops within walking distance on Sokolovská Street and local bus stops on Křižíkova and Ke Štvanici streets. Masaryk Railway Station serves as a terminal station for suburban train lines from the eastern, northern and partly northwestern Prague suburban area and by 2030 it will also offer a direct train connection to Václav Havel Airport Prague. The Prague Main Railway Station is also located within walking distance of about 500 m far from the site.
The transport infrastructure forms major barriers in the area. In the north-south direction, the site is crossed by the Nort-South Arterial road. In the east it is intersected by the historic Negrelli Viaduct (railway) and in the south there is the large area of rail yard of the Masaryk Railway Station. The need to improve the permeability of the area was one of the main topics of the urban design competition and the proposed masterplan therefore offers several new connections.
The development of the Florenc21 transformation zone is divided into two phases – Phase West and Phase East. The dividing line is the new street (as delimited in the winning design of the Florenc21 Urban Design Competition and subsequent studies), which crosses the Florenc area from the Museum of the Capital City of Prague southeast under the Negrelli viaduct and continues towards Žižkov.
The area of the Phase West of the Florenc21 project is divided into four parts, for which separate but parallel architectural competitions are being held.
The majority owner of the Florenc transformation zone is Prague CBD2, s.r.o. (part of the Penta Real Estate Group), which is also the client of these four international architectural competitions.
Phasing of Florenc21 site development, based on the site plan from the Site Coordination document, author: UNIT architekti, A69 – architekti and Jakub Cigler Architekti, 2024
