How long have you been working at IPR Prague?

I first joined IPR Prague in 2012, right after university. I worked in the Office of Metropolitan Planning under Roman Koucký and stayed there for six years. It was an amazing period of transformation, when the former City Development Authority was reshaped into IPR Prague as we know it today. In 2018, after we submitted the Metropolitan Plan draft for joint negotiations, I left. I then spent some time at the architecture office A69, when Petr Hlaváček approached me and asked whether I would join his office at City Hall. I was once again primarily responsible for the Metropolitan Plan. I stayed for one term and chose not to continue into the next. I have now been at the institute as Director of the Department of Urban Design for the past three years.

How does the working environment at City Hall differ from that at IPR Prague?

At City Hall, the task is primarily to negotiate and balance the many interests that collide there. The final decision is not always the one that seems best from a strictly professional standpoint, but rather the one that is negotiable and leads to a workable outcome. At IPR Prague, on the other hand, we prepare concepts and long-term projects where maintaining continuity is essential and where we must try—even if only in small steps—to push them forward. In this sense, I find working at the Institute far more fulfilling. Yet the experience from City Hall is irreplaceable, and it is extremely important for the position I hold now. It gives you a clearer understanding of how the city works, what factors shape political decisions, and that IPR Prague is just one part of a larger system. It may sound obvious, but thanks to my time at City Hall I can better understand certain decisions and anticipate potential conflicts or crisis points.

What does the Department of Urban Design oversee?

The section consists of three offices—the Office of Spatial Coordination, the Office of Public Space, and the Office of Zoning Plan Changes.

The Office of Public Space is probably the most visible, as it delivers specific realisations that shape the city the most. In the previous electoral term, there was a kind of boom in the development and revitalisation of public spaces. Now the tempo has slowed somewhat, giving us time to revise and create new methodological materials. We are currently preparing a methodology for district authorities on how to create public space masterplans—documents that define the standards of high-quality public space—as well as a Catalogue of Recommended Elements. This, in turn, defines what the “interior” of streets and their “furnishings” should look like: which paving stones are appropriate where, which benches, and so on. A key document is the Public Space Manual, which has served Prague for ten years. We gradually supplement it with updates, otherwise known as plug-ins, focused on tree lines, public art, or cemeteries.

Colleagues in the Office of Spatial Coordination each oversee a specific part of the city, which they know in minute detail—all private and municipal development plans that come to IPR for comments. We recently completed a handbook defining how to make decisions in stabilised areas. We would like to publish this methodology online so anyone submitting a project can see the principles we follow when issuing comments and recommendations.

The Office of Zoning Plan Changes is a bit of a Cinderella, and I would really like to highlight it. The team does some extremely important work that is not immediately visible. The office effectively enables the city’s development. Under the current land-use plan, practically every project begins with a change to the plan. Despite their very small number, these colleagues do an excellent job of handling their extensive agenda, and without them, Prague quite literally would not have a single approved project or a single new apartment. But the current situation is unsustainable. To give you an idea: right now, around 450 amendments to the land-use plan are under way. Each amendment typically takes two to three years, and behind every single one there is a specific project—private or public. For example, development in the Bubny-Zátory transformation area, the Vltava Philharmonic Hall, or the Municipal Ring Road will only be possible thanks to these amendments.

We are currently working very intensively on the transition to the new Metropolitan Plan. We are preparing the repeated public hearing for the autumn, and the plan could be approved in spring 2026. All 450 ongoing amendments will become part of it. No work will be lost.

Recently, a lot has been said about the land-use plan amendment for Žižkov Freight Railway Station.

Yes, that was indeed a major milestone. It is the largest land-use plan amendment in Prague’s history, enabling the construction of a modern urban district in accordance with the urban study commissioned by IPR Prague. The entire amendment process requires negotiations—both with the relevant authorities (in Prague’s case, primarily heritage conservation authorities when the site is within the city, or the Ministry of the Environment when development affects the landscape), and with the relevant city districts and the public. Based on these negotiations, the final proposal is always adjusted , often with added public facilities or parks. For Žižkov Freight Railway Station, the agreement between the city and the developers, led by Deputy Mayor Hlaváček, was crucial. The total value of investor contributions to public amenities is nearly CZK 1.2 billion, funding new nurseries, parks, and schools.

You mentioned the Catalogue of Recommended Elements. Can you describe it in more detail?

The Catalogue of Recommended Elements for Public Spaces of the City of Prague offers a selection of suitable surfaces, pieces of city furniture, and small architectural elements installed in streets. It expands on the principles of the Public Space Manual and provides a curated selection of equipment types tailored to the character of each locality. Designing public spaces in a housing estate is very different from designing them in the historical core. The catalogue includes paving types and city furniture such as benches, lighting, litter bins, or new tram and bus stop shelters. It is intended for municipal organisations, investors, their designers, and the professional public. Anyone designing any public space in Prague should consult it. This set of recommendations is advisory only and not enforceable—nor is that our intention. The catalogue serves as a guide offering a range of possible solutions for each area. We don't want a perfectly uniform city, but we do want public spaces to be high-quality and functional.

The catalogue will never be a final, fixed document—we will be updating it on a continuous basis. A working group has been established for its development and revision, bringing together representatives of all key maintenance, investment, and expert organisations involved in public space. Whenever a new element appears that should be included, we add it. Recently, for example, we addressed protective barriers around trees to prevent cars from hitting them, or retractable parking bollards designed in the style of Prague’s city furniture.

One of the current elements of public space is the parcel locker.

We’ve been working with parcel lockers since the pandemic, when they began appearing rapidly across the city. Back then we prepared a simple manual with recommendations on what parcel lockers should look like and what to take into account when placing them. At that time, companies installed them almost exclusively on private land, as it was easier than navigating the city’s more complex procedures. Today, now that parcel lockers are widespread, operators’ approaches are changing as well. Through ongoing dialogue, we have therefore developed rules that set out the basic requirements: a unified style, colour scheme, volume, and other parameters. Our aim is to ensure that the boxes do not act as advertising surfaces but blend naturally into the city. The document now awaits approval by Prague City Council and, if adopted, will also apply to municipal land. Our goal is not to push parcel lockers out—we see them as a service society wants—but to provide a clear and comprehensible framework for their placement and appearance. We also hope to see progress towards shared lockers among different operators, which could save space and reduce visual clutter.

What other projects are you working on?

We are currently working intensively with the Prague Public Transit Company on the design of public spaces around the new stations of metro line D. We are not designing the station architecture itself, but rather the interface with the city—how the concourses connect to the surrounding streets and what these places should look like in the future. We approach each station individually, depending on how much room we have to manoeuvre. At the moment, we are focused on Pankrác.

We have also launched conceptual work on the redevelopment of the Main Railway Station area, which is set to undergo a major transformation—not only due to the planned metro D and the S-line rail link, but also in view of possible improvements to the space above the tracks. A new multimodal interchange will be created here, intended to connect underground and surface transport efficiently. The task for the city and the Railway Administration is to prepare an overall framework for how this node could function, including its broader urban context. We aim to lead the city’s process independently of developer pressures, respecting the land-use plan and the needs of the city and its diverse groups of residents - including the homeless, who are inevitably part of the station environment. A new Prague rail hub will emerge here, and our role is to bring all the contexts together and design it so that it becomes a functional, meaningful solution that can channel this new energy and project it up to the surface.

Alongside major transformation areas, we are also working on smaller projects, such as designing improvements to the village green in Třebonice—one of the last Prague villages that until recently had no sewage infrastructure. Here, we are responding to planned utility upgrades and trying to propose a solution that creates a high-quality public space suited to the village character. This work is at a completely different scale from large urban projects, but it is all the more valuable—we are looking for ways to create meaningful spaces even in the smallest localities. Information about the Třebonice project reached us through the Office of Spatial Coordination, which is now collaborating with the Office of Public Space on a specific conceptual brief for improvements to streets and public areas. Everything is nicely interconnected here.

What does your typical weekly schedule look like?

Tuesdays are meeting days. We have management meetings and meetings of the individual offices. The rest of the week is quite varied, but almost every day I have at least one meeting at City Hall or the Prague Municipal Authority. It involves a fair amount of moving around, which I actually enjoy; I’m not sitting in the office all day, but am constantly out in the city. As the head of the section, I work rather intuitively. All three offices are in the same building, which makes communication easy and informal. Colleagues know that my door is always open—they can come anytime to ask questions, consult something or update me on ongoing negotiations. I have great trust in them, and I hope the feeling is mutual.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I really love the whole building—the environment and the creativity. Everyone here cares that we represent the institution we love; we're pursuing the same goal, and it really shows. There is a great deal of mutual respect and appreciation. We don’t play unnecessary hierarchy games; everyone fulfils a unique and important role. It's a genuinely safe environment, focused on results. At the same time, we maintain a certain lightness and humour, the very essence of IPR.