The skyscraper with the shipwreck, according to experts, does not respect the values of Nové Butovice

Prague – The proposal for a skyscraper in Prague's Nové Butovice, featuring a sculpture of a shipwreck by artist David Černý and architect Tomáš Císař, does not respect the urban, spatial, and compositional values of the district, according to experts contacted by ČTK. They claim that the building would serve to cover up negative impacts on the surroundings. Černý disagrees. The company Trigema, which plans to build the 135-meter-high structure, believes it will realize the project in the near future.

Once completed, the skyscraper would become the tallest building in the country. The capital city will change the zoning plan due to the construction.

Sculptor, historian, and art theorist Pavel Karous considers the decision to build Top Tower a failure on many levels. According to him, the skyscraper would significantly dominate the surrounding landscape, overshadow neighboring buildings, and increase traffic congestion. "Creating a shipwreck in that context, which seemingly reacts to global warming and ecological disasters, is a complete mockery, a classic example of what is called greenwashing," Karous told ČTK. Some artworks, he argues, represent a fig leaf meant to cover the unacceptability of developer construction.

The skyscraper is set to rise on a small plot of land in Prague 13; according to Černý, this is an advantage over other types of construction given today's technical possibilities. "The more you have a sprawling city, the more you have to spend on infrastructure, transport in that city, on all other things," he told ČTK. He stated there is no rule that there should be four to five-story buildings in the city and considers the critiques regarding the project's lack of environmental friendliness to be misinformation.

"We are glad that we have managed to reach an agreement with the City Hall of Prague to support this unique building. Now we believe that we will realize the construction in the near future," said Trigema's chairman Marcel Soural to ČTK.

Journalist Eva Klíčová from the online newspaper Alarm reminded that Top Tower would surpass the current tallest building in Brno, the AZ Tower. "The monument not only intrudes on the urbanistically closed unit in the immediate vicinity around the entrance to the metro in Nové Butovice, but is also one of the most cynical examples of greenwashing," she believes. Černý's sculpture intersecting the body of the building symbolizes a shipwreck that gets stuck after a climate apocalypse. Indeed, this project will contribute to it with its tons of steel like few other constructions, Klíčová stated.

"I am convinced that good architecture does not need to rely on oversized and primarily entirely self-serving decorations, which are rather a symbol of kitsch. Many people without taste like kitsch, so they will appreciate it. But I would rather that Prague could boast of good architecture. So, maybe next time," responded architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš.

Trigema presented the project to the public already in 2019. In 2023, architect and urban planner Ivo Oberstein, whose design created the Southwest City in the 1970s and 1980s, today's Prague 13, also expressed his opposition to the skyscraper. Oberstein, who passed away early last year, stated in his then-expression that the design of the complex does not respect the values of the Nové Butovice concept. Those areas to the west of Bucharova Street are not redevelopment sites, but completed areas. He also claimed that the building would have a negative impact on the environment.

"The structure of the shipwreck of an ocean liner made of stainless steel, the height of two Petřín Lookouts, would significantly multiply the carbon footprint of the reinforced concrete residential tower. The skyscraper complex with the steel wreck would increase the heat island effect of the residential area of nine-story houses and worsen the living environment of the residential quarter," wrote Oberstein.

However, Zdeněk Soudný, General Secretary of the Developers Association, reminded that, in its time, the Dancing House also faced similar controversy and is now one of the symbols of modern Prague. He considers it important for Prague to finally have a significant, iconic building after many years. "Such projects always divide the public. From a professional perspective, however, we perceive the key point as the courage to embark on a project that has been outside the comfort zone of normal construction from the start and which faces conservative reflexes from parts of the public and authorities," Soudný said.

Černý has previously collaborated with the investor and development company Trigema; those projects were also accompanied by criticism. In Karlín's Fragment, Černý added a sculpture of a female figure titled Lilith and other steel elements to the building. The glowing installation of butterflies with the bodies of Spitfire fighter planes on the Máj department store then provoked significant controversy.

Prague's representatives decided overnight that the city would change the zoning plan, thus allowing the construction of the Top Tower skyscraper. At the same time, the investor is to provide nearly 76 million crowns to Prague 13 and the city hall in cash and public space modifications.