New office palace will revive Hybernská Street

The house is shaped by two basic architectural principles. The urbanistic one is based on the existing spatial composition of the Masaryk Station buildings. The large corner buildings are connected by low two-storey buildings. The corner buildings create an accent, have hipped roofs and are not oriented in one direction. We decided to continue this rhythm with a new building mass - a simple rectangular block with a hipped roof. The second principle shapes the character of the building. It follows the traditional architectural morphology with a division into three horizontal layers - the plinth, the main part and the pitched roof.

The transformation that the surroundings of Masaryk Station are undergoing is unprecedented in the Prague environment in terms of its size and ambition. Just beyond the edge of the Old Town, empty spaces are gradually being revived by new construction, stretching from the gates of the Old Town to the foot of Vítkov, Karlín and Žižkov. The building of the former post office No.15 is not large in size. With the new railway bridge, it has taken on a completely new and important position in the foreground. It is the empty space above the track that allows long views from more distant directions, from the new green bridge, from the main street, from Vítkov, from the opposite side of Masarycka and confirms the exposed position for the location of the new building.

Hybernská Street, despite its long neglected condition, is one of the most important medieval roads. Historically, it connected Prague - the seat of the crown - with Kutná Hora - the treasury of the Czech Kingdom. The Powder Gate is within sight of the building project and the bend in the Hybernská route is a trace of medieval plotting. Masaryk Station, on the other hand, represents the industrial development of the 19th century, being the first steam railway station in Bohemia and the oldest operating terminus. The site is at the crossroads of construction phases, movement of people and cars, and historical layers.

However, he interprets them in a new way, inspired by the Renaissance, just like the station buildings. The house in contact with the ground floor is flanked by elevated arches that follow the original arches of the historic building. They are designed in a noble material, artificial stone or terrazzo. Above the plinth, the body of the house consists of three storeys with large windows, the proportions of which correspond to those of typical 19th century houses. The roof and the cornice are then formed by a half module of window openings. The denser subdivision encloses the building more, creating a roofscape and protecting the interior space from unwanted solar gain. The slight curvature of the individual modules of the façade is based on the rounded windows of trains and locomotives and adds a unique detail to the building. The colour scheme is inspired by 19th century facades in old pink, but in stained concrete.

Are you interested in this article? Read more articles from our blog.

Source: OVA Architects