The Future of the Center of Brno - Urban Planning Competition for a Design

Brno September 7, 2015 – The Statutory City of Brno today announces an international two-round urban planning competition. The subject of the competition is the urban and transportation solution for the new Brno railway station located in the area below Petrov and simultaneously the creation of a strategy for the emergence of a fully functional part of the city.

The international urban planning competition "Future of Brno City Center" is announced with the intention of finding a solution for one of the most complicated, but also one of the most interesting areas of the South Moravian metropolis – the space surrounding the main railway station.

Through the competition, we are addressing architects, urban planners, and other experts to ensure that the area in the center is not consumed by invasive generic architecture, but rather to make it an integral part of the urban structure, representing Brno as a creative and self-confident city. “The competition has two dimensions for the city. The first is pragmatic – seeking answers to the question of how to handle the area in question and how to develop it in the event that the state decides to place the station under Petrov as part of the railway hub. The second dimension relates to the overall long-term vision of the city, which we want to fulfill through this competition: Brno is profiling itself as a modern and young city that offers a lot of study opportunities. We want to develop the city to be not only beautiful but primarily functional for its citizens,” comments the city’s mayor Ing. Petr Vokřál.

Thanks to a professional approach and a series of stimulating discussions held with representatives of the city and its Department of Urban Planning and Development, we present an inspiring and open assignment to the competitors. Part of the solution will not only be the urban concept but also the method, strategy, and tools for its successful realization. Brno is looking for a proposal for the entire process – a proposal that will lead to the creation of a new district with contemporary social and cultural infrastructure and that will allow the city to strengthen its role in the area.

Mgr. Martin Ander, Ph.D., Deputy Mayor of the City of Brno for Urban Development specifies: “Our vision for this area is a vibrant compact city, the foundation of which must be housing and related services – whether they are cafes, shops, kindergartens or quality public spaces, parks, or places for sports. A vibrant city should gradually emerge here, just as we know it from other districts adjoining the Brno city center. We want to arrive at quality solutions and we know that it is a long process with many phases.”
This competition approaches the development area in the center of Brno as an opportunity to rethink the city – a different approach than the pragmatic placement of large-scale objects or the creation of an internal periphery. Its goal is to find solutions that will be adaptable, sustainable, and of high quality, from architectural, urban, and transportation perspectives, leading to the emergence of a fully functional integral part of a modern European city.

Along with Brno city councilors, experienced architects both from practice and competition backgrounds will decide on the proposals. The jury's president is German architect Roger Riewe, whose office proposed the main train station in Innsbruck based on winning a competition. Additionally, the jury will include Silja Tillner from Austria, whose studio has been working for several years on the Vienna project Urbion, a major urban revitalization closely associated with the railway and Otto Wagner's legacy. From abroad, Sándor Finta, the chief architect of Budapest, and Jiří Oplatek, a Brno native working in Basel, Switzerland, will also participate.

The expert part of the jury also includes its second vice-chairman Ivan Plicka – Chairman of the Czech Chamber of Architects, Jan Pavlíček – transportation engineer, Jaroslav Wertig from Prague studio A69 architects, representative of the young Brno scene Ondřej Chybík from Chybik+Kristof studio, leading Czech theorist and historian of architecture Vladimír Šlapeta, and Ivan Lejčar from Alej studio – author of the study "Railway Station in the Center".

Dependent jury members include the mayor of Brno Petr Vokřál (ANO), who has been elected the first vice-chairman of the jury, as well as deputy mayors Martin Ander (SZ) and Matěj Hollan (ŽTB) along with councilor and deputy mayor of the Brno-north district Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL). The complete jury is supplemented by representatives from the Brno city council Jana Drápalová (SZ) and Petr Bořecký (ANO).

The deadline for submitting proposals in the first round is set for December 18, 2015. The competition will be open, public, anonymous, two-round, and announced in Czech and English. It is expected that 8 proposals will proceed to the second round, for which the authors will have until April 15, 2016, to refine. The results of the competition should then be published along with an exhibition of the proposals well in advance of the planned referendum on the location of the station and the development of the southern center.

Three best proposals will be awarded. The prizes are set at CZK 1,800,000 for the first place, CZK 1,200,000 for the second, and CZK 750,000 for the third place. Among those proposals that advance to the second round but do not receive any prize, a total amount of CZK 1,250,000 will be distributed.

All information for the media will always be published on the competition website: budoucnostcentrabrna.cz