River and City

location:  Vltava River, Prague, Czech Republic
date:  spring 2011
course:  Urban Studio / studio
institution:  Czech Technical University in Prague
tutors:  doc. Ing. arch. Jan Jehlík,
             Ing. arch. Jana Zdráhalová, PhD.

Project brief:
The task was first to investigate the phenomenon of the Vltava River in the inner city of Prague and then to design an overall strategy and elaborate several specific examples strenghtening the relationship between the river and the city.

Proposal:
Today, Prague is turning its back towards the river. The design strategy makes the river an integral part of the city public space, spreads various activities around it and connects public transport network. City life reaches the water surface or steps even onto.

The strategy is an intersection of several layers. The first layer is “swimming in the river”. It refers to the lost tradition of outdoor swimming pools in Prague. The design emphasizes pedestrians creating new footbridges, abolishes parking on the riverbanks, supplements ferry lines etc. Finally, based on the reading the city character, suitable places for various activities in public space were identified.

Main points:
> connecting together the riverbanks
> improving the access to the water
> programming riverbanks and water surface
> emphasizing pedestrians
> SWIMMING in Vltava River