Správa železnic HQ

Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Scope: Commercial
Area: 49,500 m² (GFA)
Stage: Competition
Architect: Studio Seilern Architects
Local Architect: AED Projects
Structural Engineer: Fhecor Ingenieros Consultores
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: R. Úrculo Ingenieros Consultores
Sustainability Consultant: Transsolar
Traffic Consultant: Mobility In Chain
Landscape Consultant: wHY

This project is an extraordinary opportunity to create a new citizencentric space, where the community of commuters, the multi-mode transport infrastructure, and Správa železnic, its operator, have to opportunity to merge and co-exist in a more meaningful manner. Our aim is to create a significant and positive impact beyond the building, on nature, on community and on its urban context.

This is not a simply building, but a new public place for the Smíchov Area: The aim of our project is to enable and encourage an open and collaborative Správa železnic community, in touch and connected to its commuters. The building with its distinct identity, symbolises the visionary approach of the company towards to future of transport. Its garden, spanning the entire site, is a place of meeting and confluence for the local community and the commuters, forging a strong presence for Správa železnic in Prague.

Rather than creating a monumental block on the street, we chose a lighter approach of floating the offices above a public garden. The public and shared functions are street level in the plinth. The new Správa železnic garden on the plinth seamlessly connects all levels between a new urban plaza fronting the station, Nádražní Street, the train platforms, and the bus station above. The move to lift a bridge building above the garden creates a generously sun-bathed garden, with the added benefit of allowing the afternoon sun to penetrate onto Nádražní Street, creating a more comfortable environment for its neighbouring buildings.