Architect: Decisions about the territory of Karolina are dictated by the investor's mandate

OSTRAVA - According to Polish architect Andrzej Duda, the city of Ostrava is guided by the dictates of the investor, specifically the company ECE, which wants to build a shopping gallery in the attractive location in the city center while deciding the future of the Karolina area. Duda was a co-author of the winning design for the future form of this area several years ago. The city disagrees with his assertion. The ECE company does not want to comment on the matter at this time.
Several years ago, the city announced an international competition from which the future form of the attractive area in the city center was to emerge. Of 90 proposals, the vision of Polish architects succeeded. The ECE company was originally interested in a plot of land that, according to Duda, would not interfere with their concept in any way.
However, they ultimately decided to pursue a different location, and if negotiations are successful, the shopping center would be located right in the center of Karolina. Duda believes this will disrupt the entire concept of the project. "The investor is not interested in public expectations but in their own profit. Every architect who looks at that location knows it is barbarism," Duda believes.
The city council is expected to discuss the intention to change the land use plan at its Wednesday meeting. The plan currently shows a park instead of a multifunctional area, precisely where the ECE company wishes to build. After changing the land use plan, the city intends to announce an investor competition.
"We want to remove the limits from the land use plan that were set specifically for the Polish solution. However, nothing will prevent those who want to implement the original Polish design from the competition," stated the chief architect of the city of Ostrava, Jaroslav Sedlecký. He added that, on the other hand, the change in the land use plan allows the developer or investor to behave differently in the area.
However, this reality is not well-received by regional representatives of the Czech Chamber of Architects. They demand that the city provide evidence of the professional basis on which it intends to make any changes. According to architects, it is unusual for the planned form of the Karolina area to change again in such a short time after the winning design from the international competition was developed.

Ostrava wants to change the land use plan in Karolina due to investors

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OSTRAVA - The city of Ostrava wants to change the land use plan in the former Karolina coke plant area in the city center. Officials had mistakenly indicated a park instead of a multifunctional area in the land use plan, which could limit potential investors' plans. The Ostrava representatives decided today on the intention to change the land use plan.
The incorrectly marked park appeared, for example, in the area that the German company ECE expressed interest in, which would like to build a shopping center in Karolina. "The intention to change the land use plan essentially means the removal of limits for the area," said Ostrava Mayor Aleš Zedník to ČTK. He added that after the change in the land use plan, it will not be precisely defined where a park must be and where a building should be, respectively.
According to Zedník, it will take some time before the plan can be changed. "The change in the land use plan is discussed with the public twice. If everything goes smoothly, the entire process may be concluded in May or June of next year; if there are conflicts, it may take up to a year," Zedník noted. The city is considering announcing an investor competition in the area, and representatives are expected to discuss it at their October meeting.
The city's approach is being criticized primarily by Polish architects who won the international competition for the future form of Karolina several years ago, succeeding among 90 other candidates. They accuse the city of only following the interests of investors.
Martina Kubíčková