In Karlín, a new administrative building is being constructed for half a billion

Prague - In the Prague district of Karlín, a new administrative building worth half a billion crowns will be built by mid-2008. The project was designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. According to him, the project is designed in such a way that the district does not lose its industrial historical spirit because of it. At the same time, the building is said to transform Karlín into a "more human form."
    "The Karlín district is exceptionally inspiring for any artist. The industrial character of the place directly calls for capturing its atmosphere, pace, and image," Bofill said today at a press conference.
    The architect stated that he tried to preserve the industrial glazed façade that will connect the window sections with special perimeter panels filled with Venetian plaster. Bofill is, for example, the author of the projects of the Paris representation of the Christian Dior brand, Cartier, Decaux, Axa, the headquarters of Shiseido in Tokyo, and the airport project in Barcelona.
    The construction of the building named Corso II A was initiated in mid-December last year by the development company Real Estate Karlin Group (REKG), which has already reconstructed the Corso Karlín administrative building in Karlín. The project is financed by Česká spořitelna. The administrative building will connect with the already completed Corso Karlín on Křižíkova street, which was completed in 2001.
    In the new building, which will offer 13,000 square meters for rent, the rent after the completion of the building will be around 14.5 euros (about 400 crowns) per square meter, said the director of the real estate agency Knight Frank, Zdenka Klapalová. The building will include, among other things, an internal glazed atrium with greenery, demonstration rooms, a restaurant, and a guarded three-story underground parking lot.
    Karlín has been undergoing reconstruction since the flood that hit it in 2002. Currently, according to the mayor of this district, Josef Nosek, a project to repair Karlín Square for 90 million crowns is underway.
    According to Bofill, Karlín should be a model for other city districts outside the center of Prague in terms of urbanization and the appearance of the so-called urban furniture, which includes benches, sidewalks, and lights. According to him, Karlín should not consist only of offices but also apartments, shops, cinemas, to give it the character of a living district.
    REKG plans to develop Corso II B and C in Karlín as well, which together should create a rentable area of 47,000 square meters. The company owns several plots of land in Karlín and Libeň, where it intends to build thousands of square meters of office, retail, residential, and entertainment spaces in the future. REKG has already completed projects in Prague such as Palác Karlín, Corso Karlín, Kotelna, and Kollárova 14.
    In Prague, 230,000 square meters of office space were built last year, the most in Pankrác, with Karlín in second place.