Prague unveils winning design for Miloš Forman Square redevelopment

Miloš Forman Square in central Prague is set for a major transformation. This week, city officials announced the winner of an international architectural competition for the site at the end of Pařížská, Czechia’s most expensive street, near the Vltava riverbank. The redesign will be led by the Danish studio ADEPT.

The winning design by Danish studio ADEPT was announced at a ceremony at Prague’s Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning, known as CAMP.

Petr Hlaváček|Photo: Tereza Čistotová, Czech Radio

The proposal was selected from nearly 200 entries submitted by studios from 42 countries around the world. From those, the jury shortlisted six finalists before choosing the winner. One of the jury members was Prague’s Deputy Mayor for Regional Development, Petr Hlaváček.

“The brief was designed to ensure there would be more public space than there is today, along with some commercial functions and greenery,” Hlaváček explains.

“The winning proposal fulfils this vision. It includes less commercial space than some of the other designs, but that was widely seen as appropriate. Most importantly, the entire area will be fully accessible, unlike today.”

Design of the piazza on the square|Source: Adept

The architectural competition was titled RaumScape, a reference to architect Adolf Loos’s concept of the Raumplan, which he famously explored in Prague’s Müller Villa.

Rather than organizing buildings around traditional floor levels, Loos experimented with interconnected, flowing spaces arranged at different heights.

In this project, that idea is reinterpreted as an open urban landscape.

Miloš Forman Square Design|Source: Adept

Visually, the winning design resembles a gently raised terrain that conceals usable space beneath the surface while remaining fully accessible from above.

“Part of the brief was to work with the terrain and allow spaces to extend underground rather than exist only above ground,” says Hlaváček. “When you look at a cross-section, you can see that the interior spaces go deeper, while at the same time people can move freely across the roof. And the entire area is accessible, which simply isn’t the case today.”

The redesigned square will be seamlessly connected to the Fairmont Golden Prague hotel. Its co-owner, Pavel Baudiš, believes the space will be active throughout the year.

“What’s remarkable is that it works in every season. In summer, there can be water features for children. In autumn, markets. In winter, an ice rink. And in spring, performances and cultural events.”

Miloš Forman Square Location|Photo: Adept

According to Baudiš, the future use of the ground-level structure integrated into the square has not yet been decided, but it could include a café or a restaurant.

The space in front of the hotel was officially named Miloš Forman Square in October 2018, after the Prague City Council approved the name earlier that year following the death of the Oscar-winning Czech film director.

The redevelopment of the square is expected to cost around 150 million Czech crowns and will be financed by the private company that owns the neighbouring hotel.

If all permits and approvals proceed as planned, construction could begin within two years.