Říčany near Prague opened a new elementary school for 540 children, it is a wooden construction costing 700 million CZK

Říčany – The town of Říčany near Prague today opened a new primary school for 540 children. According to the municipal office, it is the largest wooden school building in the Czech Republic built to the so-called passive standard. It is heated by heat pumps, and part of the electricity is generated by photovoltaic panels. The building features green roofs and a rainwater management system. The work took nearly three years and cost over 700 million CZK, of which about 480 million CZK were covered by grants. However, preparations for the construction, according to Mayor David Michalička (Calm City), started ten years ago.

The new school building was created on a meadow in the middle of a residential area at Komenského Square. It includes 18 core classrooms, a library, specialized classrooms, a kitchen with a dining hall, an after-school club with its own outdoor facilities, a sports hall, and outdoor sports facilities. Michalička pointed out that it is not common for large schools to be built in the city center. According to him, the municipal office emphasized high-quality architecture that would respect the surrounding buildings. The construction grants were obtained from the Ministry of Education, the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, and the Central Bohemian Region.

"We are in the city center, and since the surrounding buildings are very sensitive, we held an architectural competition. The design that won is very close to nature," Michalička told ČTK. He noted that the green roofs look beautiful even from the nearby tower block.

Today, Education Minister Robert Plaga (for ANO) praised the design of the new school in Říčany, stating that schools should look like this in the future. However, he mentioned that the building itself is not crucial, but rather what happens inside it. Deputy Minister of the Environment Ivo Marcin said that this is a good example for future projects.

According to the city leadership, the new school is extraordinary in the scale of its wooden construction. The above-ground parts consist of a skeleton made of high-strength glued laminated timber. The advantage of the wooden construction is that a large part of the building could be produced ahead of time in a manufacturing hall. The perimeter walls were made as prefabricated wooden panels that workers subsequently transported to the site. Cranes installed them in place, and the building gradually grew like a large building set. The facade of the school building is also wooden. It was clad with 22 kilometers of larch boards.

Over 4,000 square meters of green roofs were created on the school and gym. Beneath the vegetation are drainage layers that slow down the runoff of precipitation. According to the director of the 1st Primary School, Adam Kobra, some areas will serve for teaching horticultural practices.

According to Michalička, Říčany needed the new school. The number of children in the sixteen-thousand-strong town is increasing, and the existing facilities were insufficient. According to Kobra, the entire second grade, which has three classes in each year, and all first grades will move into the new building on Tuesday. The second to fifth grades, approximately 200 students, will remain in the original building next to the church, while the rest will sit in the new classrooms. Students in Říčany previously learned in two other smaller buildings, which will now be used by the art school and a community center.

Governor Petra Pecková (STAN) reminded that a similarly large school opened in Říčany in 2010, and it was long thought that another one was not needed. She pointed out that a number of new schools or extensions have recently been established in the so-called ring around Prague, such as in Psáry, Ondřejov, or Louňovice.

There are three municipal primary schools in Říčany and a fourth for children with special educational needs. Due to its location near Prague, Říčany is under significant pressure from developers and housing seekers. The town has also repeatedly won a survey by the company Obce v datech, which indicates that it is the best place to live in the country.