The new form of the Hotel Palace in Ostrava will be created by studios from five countries, including the Czech Republic

Ostrava - The jury selected five teams to develop the design of the former Hotel Palace complex in the center of Ostrava, whose reconstruction is being prepared by the developer group Antracit. The teams include firms from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, France, and Italy. The investor wants to know the new design of the complex in November. Michaela Dvořáková, the marketing manager of Antracit, informed ČTK today. The estimated investment costs for the construction are 600 million crowns, and the completion of the project is expected in 2030.

The five teams were selected from 89 teams from 27 countries that registered for the architectural-urban competition. "On June 30, representatives of all teams will arrive in Ostrava for a workshop, which will be combined with a site tour and presentation of the assignment directly in the Palace area. A follow-up workshop focused on presenting the developed designs and consulting with the jury will be held on September 1, and the final presentation of the designs will take place on November 7," said Dvořáková.

The chairman of the expert jury, architect Pascal Müller, stated that truly top-notch studios participated in the competition. "After intense and careful discussion, we selected five teams whose applications best matched the assignment, competition criteria, and our trust in their ability to present an exceptional design. The final selection reflects both the international and Czech scene - from renowned firms to young experimental studios and less-known teams with strong potential," said Müller.

Among the selected five is a team consisting of re:architekti studio from the Czech Republic together with the Italian onsitestudiem and the German-American Transsolar, Kuehn Malvezzi Architects from Germany, Neuhäusl Hunal from the Czech Republic, Objektor architekti from the Czech Republic in collaboration with the Franco-Czech Atelier Altan, and Slovak ROAR architects.

"We are entering an important phase of the competition, where the teams will develop their designs in direct interaction with the jury and the clients," said Zuzana Bajgarová, the director of the Antracit group.

Hotel Palace, opened in 1913 as Hotel National, was one of the most luxurious hotels in Austria-Hungary. The complex consists of several buildings, but in the second half of the last century, the originally Art Nouveau structures underwent insensitive remodeling. Since the 1990s, the complex was empty and faced demolition. In 2016, part of it was transformed into a student residence called Kampus Palace, while the larger part of the complex continued to deteriorate. The Antracit group, which is part of the investment holding Purposia Group, purchased the complex at the end of last year.

The Ostrava holding Purposia Group is involved in the entire cycle of construction projects, from design and development to construction and property management. The holding includes 42 companies with annual revenues of more than four billion crowns.