From transit hub to neighborhood

Today, the area around Holešovice Station primarily serves as a way to get people to their next destination—whether by train, metro, tram, or bus. The site itself is not easy to navigate. The space is a jumble of various transportation routes, different elevation levels, small structures, and barriers. It lacks a continuous street line, clear landmarks, and welcoming public space. In the area where the historic Zátory neighborhood once stood, extensive construction projects have left behind a disparate mix of transit infrastructure, metro utility buildings, and neglected areas. “Today, it’s not really a neighborhood at all, but rather a peculiar, dilapidated area to which the original neighborhood of Zátory fell victim. Currently, it’s primarily a transportation hub and infrastructure that is only gradually taking shape,” says Čestmír Kříž from the winning architectural firm at the start of the walk.

The extensive project area, covering 83,000 m², required a solid urban plan and a human scale. The task was not merely to build new homes, but to transform a chaotic transit space into a destination that offers a reason to slow down and stay a while.

A new square and a new identity

A key theme of the winning concept by CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF is the creation of a previously nonexistent urban center. Two public squares with a combined area exceeding 3,500 m² will become the heart of the neighborhood, emerging where Vrbenského Street and the current, confusing underpass are located today. Within the design itself, the main space is transformed into a place with diverse characteristics.

To facilitate orientation within the space, the architects are using bold accents in red. The main landmark will be a slightly rotated, approximately 70-meter-tall high-rise building standing on the corner of the square, which will give the entire area a clearly recognizable silhouette. Both new open spaces will offer distinct characters and functional uses. The northern section near the train station will consist of a spacious paved area with mature trees and space for social events. The southern section, on the other hand, will be transformed into a so-called “Urban Forest” with dense tree plantings, water features, and shaded areas for relaxation. “We are striving to give the area a new and distinct identity. We are creating structures and open spaces that are easily recognizable and lend the entire neighborhood a distinctive character. We want the square to become a destination in its own right. That is why we have designed the southern section as an urban forest with lush vegetation and a water feature,” says Čestmír Kříž, summarizing the main vision.

Transportation versus city

Organically integrating high-frequency public transit with a pleasant urban environment was one of the most demanding challenges of the competition brief. The traffic artery on Vrbenského Street will not disappear, but it will be leveled, paved with granite cobblestones, and significantly calmed so that drivers naturally perceive their passage through the residential area. The design maintains a key emphasis on seamless transfers between trains, the metro, trams, and buses, including a “dry-foot” connection through a light-filled, covered atrium beneath the central building of the future station. This space is one of the most technically complex parts of the entire design, as the metro route must remain accessible beneath it at the request of the Prague Public Transit Authority; consequently, the floor panels will be removable. The architects, however, see this as an opportunity: the spacious covered hall is designed to host a market, concerts, and other social events.

At the same time, the current barrier—a concrete wall surrounding the parking lot along the railroad tracks—will disappear. In its place, shops and cafés will be set within arched halls inspired by historic viaducts, over which a new bike path and pedestrian promenade will run, extending all the way to Stromovka Park. “The site won’t just be left with an empty, blank wall; instead, a fully-fledged street with its own life and commercial potential will be created,” explained Čestmír Kříž during a guided walk. “The upper edge of the railway embankment will remain fully functional—the path along the railroad will be lined with trees and offer views down onto the bustling city below.”

The biggest paradox—the river behind the railroad

Although Nové Holešovice lies on a meander of the Vltava River, access to the water is nearly impossible today. The six-meter-high embankment of the railroad track forms an impenetrable barrier that physically and visually cuts the city off from the river. The architects explored possibilities for connecting the two, but the capacity of the rail corridor, strict flood protection requirements, and the small dimensions of the existing underpass do not allow for a significant expansion of the passage to the river. The winning design therefore responds by at least creating a targeted visual axis: through a monumental architectural arch above the entrance, it opens up a direct view of the Troja Bridge from the square. “We examined whether it was possible to see directly to the river from the square, but the railway embankment forms a six-meter-high wall that physically blocks the view,” Čestmír Kříž admitted candidly. “We managed to open up a view from the edge of the square at least toward the Troja Bridge, which significantly enhances the perception of the nearby water. Furthermore, the landscape design concept evokes the proximity of water through motifs of butterflies and birds on the roofs and vegetation reminiscent of a river floodplain. The entire area also lies within a floodplain, so flood protection measures must be incorporated—another constraint the design had to address.”

The memory of the place

While the new development is being built virtually from scratch, the designers emphasize that they wanted to preserve as much as possible of what already exists on the site—works of art, elements of the metro, and the materials themselves. “My task is to convey to the architects the importance of continuity with the original architecture and to develop elements that have undeniable cultural value. I am very pleased that we have chosen partners who approach the historical legacy with such sensitivity,” says Anna Švarc, a member of the jury. And regarding the principles of recycling and continuity, she adds: “For me, one of the strongest aspects of the entire project is the thoughtful recycling of materials and the ability to work with the authentic character of the site.” Existing works of art, led by Josef Klimeš’s sculpture Řeka (River), will be sensitively integrated into the new public space. In addition, the architects are working with original metro elements, such as the distinctive light fixtures and the molded concrete ventilation grilles.

Alignment with the long-term urban planning concept

The winning proposal is based on the long-term planning for the Holešovice Bubny–Zátory development area, in which context it is particularly important to note the two most recent territorial studies commissioned by the Department of Territorial Development of the Prague City Hall. The Holešovice Bubny–Zátory Territorial Study (IPR Prague + Pelčák and Partners Architects / Thomas Müller Ivan Reimann Architekten, 2018–2020) and the Holešovice Bubny–Zátory II Territorial Study, the draft of which the city published in June 2026 for public consultation and which is now nearing completion. Once again authored by the consortium Pelčák and Partners Architects / Thomas Müller Ivan Reimann Architekten, the examination of one of the most complex sites in the northern part of the area became the assignment for a competitive workshop. Selected findings from the workshop results may still be incorporated into the final version of the land-use study.