Slezská Ostrava plans an extension to the town hall, announced an architectural competition

photo: Aleš Nowák

Ostrava - The city district of Slezská Ostrava announced an architectural competition for the extension of the historical building of the Slezskoostravská Town Hall on Těšínská street. The building has long been insufficient for the needs of the office. Most officials are thus working in the building on Jurije Gagarina square, which is in poor technical condition and its modernization is estimated to cost up to 150 million crowns. This was announced to reporters today by the head of the mayor's office department, Simona Cimmer.

Therefore, the city district commissioned a study that evaluated the option of reconstructing the building on Jurije Gagarina square as well as constructing a new extension to the historical town hall building. The district leadership ultimately decided to prioritize the construction of an extension to the neo-Renaissance town hall building. The extension is to be built on the site where the original town hall building once stood. The competition is expected to yield a design for the extension that will be of high quality not only architecturally but also functionally. At the same time, the building should be sensitively connected to the current town hall.

"We ultimately prioritized a new extension to the historical building, which will allow us to create a more efficient working environment using the latest technologies. The building will be much cheaper to operate, people will find the office in one place, and the environment in which they will handle their matters will be much safer and more comfortable. Moreover, we will utilize the land on which we would never build anything else, considering the proximity of the historical town hall," said Mayor Richard Vereš (ANO).

The district wants the extension to be energy-efficient and also have enough parking spaces in underground garages. The building will also include an entrance foyer with a reception area, which will connect to the most frequently used workplaces, namely the registry office, cash desk, civil registry, and announcement office. There will be facilities for visitors with children, including a children's and nursing corner. The entire building will be barrier-free.

The building on Jurije Gagarina square is planned to be converted back into apartments in the future by the city district. "This was originally residential buildings, which is reflected in the layout of the spaces, making them unsuitable for an office building. It is therefore logical to return the buildings to their original function," added the mayor. According to him, the apartments would help revitalize this part of the district and their location in the city center could be attractive to potential residents.

Up to eight teams will be selected for the architectural competition based on applications for participation, according to the quality of references. The deadline for submitting applications for participation is until June 1. The deadline for submitting competition designs is November 16.