To the architects' competition for the new square, Hradec Králové received 49 proposals

Hradec Králové, February 12 (ČTK) - The city received 49 designs for the architectural and urban planning competition for a new square and apartment building in the Kukleny district of Hradec Králové. The city hall stated this in response to a query from ČTK today. The expert jury will anonymously select five concepts from the proposals, and the city hall will invite the author teams to submit more detailed designs. The deadline for submitting proposals ended on Wednesday. The square, located on the site of the former tannery complex, is set to become the center of the developing district on the western edge of the city.

The number of proposals is significantly higher than what the city expected. The Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning, Urbanism, and Architecture Adam Záruba (Change for Hradec) estimated that, given the complexity and scope of the area addressed, ten to 20 studios might submit proposals. Submission of designs for the second phase is scheduled for April 10.

In addition to the New Kukleny square, architects are to design an apartment block for the city's planned cooperative housing. The apartment building, with about 100 apartments, would be located near Prague Avenue and the new square. Architects will also need to incorporate the chimney of the former tannery into the square.

According to the city hall, the Kukleny brownfield area, covering nearly 14 hectares, has exceptional potential for the creation of a new center for a district that could accommodate almost 1,900 residents. The architectural competition addresses an area of over half a hectare, of which more than half should be taken up by the apartment building, with the remainder being the square.

The dilapidated object of the former tannery in Kukleny from the 19th century was demolished by the city in 2023. Only the chimney remains as a reminder of the extensive factory complex built from raw brick. In 2014, the city had the characteristic clock tower removed from the factory hall, which is stored in a depot at the airport. Architects will be able to incorporate the tower and the brickwork from the demolished structures into their designs.

Nearby the former tannery complex, the Hradec developer company Noho had previously announced a housing project with approximately 220 apartments. The first building, Cihlovka 1, with 22 apartments, was built by the company in Kukleny in 2021, and the Cihlovka 2 building with 48 apartments was completed in 2023. Investor Pavel Ludvík is preparing a building with 74 apartments near the future square. Not far from Cihlovka, a new apartment building, Thera, with 65 apartments, has recently been built.