The intersection of Michelská and Hodonínská streets reflects the rapid urban development of Prague’s eastern suburbs. It is a crossroads of trends and experiments that have left the site adrift and helplessly abandoned, caught between the high-quality First Republic-era zoning of a villa district, the prewar modernist urbanism of open blocks, and the uncompromisingly fragmented, solitary development characteristic of 1970s socialist modernism. The site was intended to be the focal point of the neighborhood, but it has become merely a transportation hub with a peripheral character, where Michelská Street is split in two by the new Pod dálnicí Street, whose routing has unfortunately and permanently eliminated any possibility of connecting to the block structure north of the site.

The street lines—Hodonínská, Pod dálnicí, Michelská, Podle Kačerova, and Na Úlehli—defined by the surrounding buildings, create a spatial whirlwind in the area that lacks a dominant direction, making it difficult to discern any clear street or building lines. The shape of the building lot, bisected by Pod dálnicí Street, is merely a consequence of the haphazard division of the area, to which the proposed park areas—in accordance with the valid Land Use Plan—seek to add some value. The site’s traffic character is reflected in the design of a high-capacity intersection.

Our proposal seeks to calm the site and anchor it within the surrounding structure. The starting point for this spatial maze is a cylindrical volume—a sort of beacon that indicates direction and purpose. The individual street areas form this cylindrical volume; they act as tangents to the building’s envelope, which seeks to define the site’s center of gravity. We propose a “synergistic” standalone building—an apartment building with a commercial ground floor—that frees up space on the second lot for a separate structure that is operationally independent yet functionally complements the apartment building with a community facility: a preschool. The apartment building is part of the street’s development, while the preschool is part of a new park, as defined by the Land Use Plan. Two standalone buildings in a complex location, each standing on its own, yet in mutual symbiosis and in accordance with urban and social logic.

The pair of now-defunct gasometers in St. Michael’s serves as our inspiration, helping us to develop the urban concept with appropriate architectural detail and enhance the atmosphere of the site. The clear tectonics, horizontal articulation, metal cladding, and recessed floors draw inspiration from the historical form and atmosphere, thus connecting to the neighborhood’s industrial history and reviving the memory of the site. “MICHELSKÝ GASOMETR” is a theme we would like to explore further.