I am of mixed opinions with regard to the proposed development of Masarykovo station. On the one hand, it’s a seriously impressive project. Massive in scope, very modernistic, even futuristic, and from what I read it will include some green spaces and solar panels on the rooftops and lots of passive energy saving stuff, which is cool. It will be mostly offices, I guess, but there will be some hotel space as well, which are two things Prague really doesn’t have a shortage of, but they keep adding more and more.
It’s not clear when it will be finished, or even when construction will begin but, in typical Prague fashion, they’ve started by digging a huge hole in the ground, but that’s been there for many months already.
Mostly, from the architects’ drawings, I think it looks cool, but I’m opposed, on principle, to too much modernism in the center. The whole beauty of Prague is the old architecture, from back in the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and earlier. It’s why I hate the dancing building, and that’s actually further from the center than this.
On the other hand, the front entrance will remain the same and the new construction will extend away from the center, and be built mostly on derelict land, next to the railroad tracks, so nothing of any great historical or aesthetic value is going to be destroyed.
I guess it’s inevitable and it doesn’t matter much what I think about it. As long as it doesn’t disrupt the train schedules.
New Masarykovo
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