Mariánské square and surroundings – new centre of Komárov

The demolition of the old village of Komárov has left a large void dominated by infrastructure that keeps the city's remaining areas at a distance. This context poses challenges common to many European cities today, such as regenerating the outermost areas and integrating them into the urban and social fabric; transforming neighbourhoods that currently lack spatial quality, despite having played an important role in the past by providing housing for an ever-growing population. Solving conflicts between open spaces, infrastructure, and residential areas, while creating inclusive public spaces are key challenges. The large amount of publicly owned open space provides an opportunity to completely rethink the city's ground level with the aim of reconnecting currently distant parts of the city, promoting cycle and pedestrian connections between existing activities and services in the area, introducing new environmental and landscape qualities, and reinforcing historical elements. The design proposal entrusts a new diversified and interconnected network of open spaces with the task of guiding the urban and environmental regeneration process of the Komárov district. The project proposes a new structure for public space that recovers the value of proximity and strengthens the links of pedestrian continuity between the different parts of the neighbourhood. The new design revives, in a contemporary form, the memory of the old village of Komárov criss-crossed by rivers and canals and traversed by the ancient Svatopetrská.