Rohan Island

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Rohan Island is about to be transformed

Park Prague 8 Flood protection measures Libeň Bridge Rohan City

After more than a year of the international competitive dialogue announced by the City of Prague together with the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Prague), the future shape of Rohan and Libeň Island is known. The winner is a Czech-Belgian team consisting of OMGEVING+FISER+VRV+SINDLAR studios, who were tasked with designing the way the public space along the Vltava River will change over the next few years, how it will function and how it will be cared for. The area, which has not received much attention in the past, will become a place not only for wildlife, living and working, but also and at the same time protect the people of Prague from flooding. The 56-hectare site will become a flood park that will connect people with the river, preserve the local biodiversity and effectively contribute to the flood protection of the city.

FOR CZECH VERSION CLICK HERE.

WINNING PROPOSAL

OMGEVING+FISER+VRV+SINDLAR (BE/CZ)

The Holešovice Meander is a unique natural phenomenon. Within the Prague basin and the whole of Bohemia. There is no similar space on the entire course of the Vltava River that has been so generously shaped in such a sudden contrast to the deep canyons to the south and north of Prague. The strength of the original landscape image, fundamentally transformed by the regulation of the river bed, is suggested to be recalled by a piece of "intermediate watershed", defined again after years by the dynamic rhythm of the river. We offer a hybrid spatial mosaic of unpredetermined stories, each time experienced a little differently.

See the project here.

Evaluation of the Commission

The winning team presented a very convincing and feasible park design that is extremely innovative in its approach to flood protection. The proposal won due to the balance of the bid - a high quality, understandable and well executed design, the efficiency of the proposed process and the value for money.

2nd place

LOLA+M2AU+de Architekten Cie. (NL/CZ)

The proposal is anchored in an unwavering commitment to climate resilience. A key priority is to allocate sufficient room for the river, providing flood protection and fostering biodiversity. Within the park, generous and sustainable water areas will be created. This ecosystem will not only benefit local wildlife and plants but will also become a cherished place, enhancing the sense of community in the heart of Prague for generations to come.

See the project here.

Evaluation of the Commission

This team's project was extremely innovative in biodiversity and local ecosystem development. The team worked superbly with the context of the area and its genius of the night. However, the cost of the contract and the significantly lower effectiveness of the flood control measure reduced the panel's score.

3rd place

DELVA+perspektiv (NL/CZ)

The revitalisation of the Vltava meander is a new story of the river in the city. The engineering work becomes a unique ecosystem. With the completion of the urbanization of the Rohan waterfront, the city has moved closer to the river, giving it a new energy and a new spatial dialogue. The remnants of the industrial revolution are returned to wild nature and the change of terrain opens up new vistas of the urban skyline. The transformation will provide an improved waterfront thoroughfare connecting the entire city, while the park on Rohanský ostrov will provide an oasis of calm close to the bustling Karlín. The project represents a vision of the future where the neighbourhood is complete, the banks are connected and Prague has a new destination for a weekend picnic with friends. The project itself is an opportunity for all of us to reunite by the Vltava River and reflect on what unites us and what divides us in a city that would never have come into being without the Vltava.

See the project here.

Evaluation of the Commission

The competition team presented a very high quality urban park design that appropriately combines space for people and nature with rich wetland ecosystems. The team's design provides a functional and integrated solution in terms of flood protection. The jury's rating was lowered by the less elaborate phasing of the project and less work with the genius loci.

4th place

New Park Maniny Consortium – DS+VenhoevenCS+MOBA+Aquatis (NL/CZ)

An inclusive park is created on the river, connecting the city and the people with the water while protecting Pragues’s inhabitants from floods. Here men and nature are equal. We love urban wildlife and value the history of this place. The Corso is the park spine and the place to stroll on the cities edge. The river arm is extended in the park, letting floodwater enter and rainwater out. Time is our friend, we adapt the park by maintenance strategies and help of the volunteers.

See the project here.

Evaluation of the Commission

This competition team presented an exceptional knowledge of the local communities and demonstrated strong social inclusiveness in the design. Although the committee praised a number of sub-ideas, the park in the proposal is not appropriately related to its surroundings and does not achieve the potential flood defence effect.

COMPETITIVE DIALOGUE

The process of selecting the best team takes over a year due to the complexity of the assignment and the size of the territory. It takes the form of a competitive dialogue - a tender process that is suitable for finding solutions for complex large public spaces where a large number of often conflicting views and requirements clash. The advantage of the competitive dialogue is the possibility of gradually adjusting the assignment as the views of all stakeholders evolve. The process is significantly more flexible than a traditional architecture competition, which is a major advantage when designing such a large public space.

From spring 2022 to spring 2023, an international competitive dialogue is taking place in Prague, which will result in the landscape design of Maniny Park and the creation of the Rohan and Libeň Island Concept Plan. A total of 13 multidisciplinary teams from all over the world have entered the tender. In the summer of 2022, an expert committee selected four teams that are simultaneously designing the future proposal for the area. The best proposal was selected by an expert committee in spring 2023, the winner was the Czech-Belgian team OMGEVING+FISER+VRV+SINDLAR. „The winning team presented a very convincing and feasible park design that is extremely innovative in its approach to flood protection. The design is responsive to sitespecific needs and works effectively with individual user groups. Of all the proposals submitted, it works best with the accessibility of the entire area,“ says IPR Prague Director Ondřej Boháč.

What is the Rohan and Libeň Island Concept Plan

The Rohan and Libeň Island Concept is the basis for the development of the 56-hectare area that stretches between the cycle path and the river. The aim of the concept is to partially preserve the urban wilderness at the site, to adapt the area for leisure activities and to bring people closer to the river and nature in the city centre. The requirements for the development of the area are based on the involvement of local stakeholders and the public throughout the development of the project. The main principles and building blocks of the development of the whole area are, among others, sustainability, multifunctionality, informality and permeability. An important theme is the connection of the area with the surrounding neighbourhoods and coordination with other projects on the Vltava River that are being prepared or implemented in Prague. The central project of this concept is the Maniny Park.

Maniny Park

Maniny Park, a flood park on the Vltava River, is one of the last major projects that has the potential to improve flood protection in Prague. The original project for the creation of the new channel, which has had planning permission for several years, was just being examined as part of a competitive dialogue. The winning proposal was able to find a more appropriate and efficient approach to the area, in the context of the current property rights and with the available funding. It provides for significantly lower excavation costs and therefore lower implementation costs, while maintaining the effectiveness of the flood protection measure. Together with the construction of the Libeň inundation bridge, the flood protection function of the area will thus be fulfilled, providing a larger area for the water to flow and slowing down the river during floods. The area of Rohan island is the last place in Prague where the flood protection of the city centre can be significantly improved.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED, IS HAPPENING AND WILL HAPPEN?

The process of selecting the best team took over a year to achieve the best possible results. These are the most important milestones:

April 2022 - We launched the tender with a competitive dialogue.
July 2022 - The expert committee selected the 4 advancing teams from the 13 teams that applied
September 2022 - The selected teams came to Prague for the first time for Workshop I of the Competitive Dialogue
January 2023 - The four advancing teams presented their first design concepts in Workshop II
May 2023 - Teams presented their final proposals, from which the committee selected the winners
September 2023 - We announced the winner of the competitive dialogue that will co-create the shape of Rohan and Libeň Island for decades to come!
2023-2024 - Completion of the landscape design of the Maniny Park and Rohan and Libeň Island Concept Plan, you will again be involved in the participation in the completion.

More detailed information

History

Rohan island was once a Vltava island, today this part of Karlín is an island in name only. The name Rohan is named after one of its owners – Josef Rohan, a burgher and carpenter, who was its owner after 1850.
The former island was created from flood deposits. The largest extent of the island was from Těšnov to today's Šaldova Street.
Around 1900 the island was connected to the island of Jerusalem at the western end. In the 1920s, during the extensive regulation of the Vltava riverbed, it was merged with Libeň Island. Both islands were connected to the Karlin coast and the Maniny area at the same time. The arm of the river on which the port of Karlin used to operate was filled in in the 1950s.
Rohan Island has not blossomed into beauty. For many years it was basically a black dump, a periphery in the middle of the city. At the time of the metro construction, it served as a repository for excavation materials. In 1999, extensive clean-up work began ahead of a planned revitalisation of the area.
Want to know more about the area? Read Historical and Natural Sciences Research Rohan Island.

Stakeholders

Take a look at the stakeholder map of Rohan and Libeň Island

Participation

The future design of Rohan Island is being considered in cooperation with local stakeholders and the public. The intention is not only to create a social consensus on the development of the area, but also to strengthen the relationship and inform.

Despite the pandemic measures, a number of participatory activities have taken place in recent months. Partly online, partly physically, we met with local residents, area users and stakeholders. The information container allowed us to meet as wide a public as possible, to present the planned revitalisation of the area, and above all to get important feedback and different opinions. In addition to the container, we prepared a questionnaire that was available online and physically for two months. We received 500 responses, and met with forty stakeholders during two online workshops. In groups we intensively discussed the current image of Rohan and Libeň Island, the positives and negatives of the area and the opportunities for the future. We carefully processed the collected data and now you can read the outputs of our participation activities in the individual outputs. You can study the map of suggestions from the questionnaire or look at the map of key actors as well.

Summary report on public involvement

Rohan and Libeň Island Concept - Summary of public involvement

01 The Territory of the Rohan and Libeň Islands - In the eyes of the public and the key actors

02 Locations of the Rohan and Libeň Islands - In the eyes of the public and the key actors

03 Involvement of key players of Rohan and Libeň Islands - Finding a vision for development
of the territory

04 Users of Rohan and Libeň Islands - Field interviews

05 The present and future of Rohan and Libeň Islands - Through the eyes of children and students

06 Rohan and Libeň Islands - Homeless people

Related Projects

Maniny Park is not the only planned project in the area. Therefore, it must be well connected to all places in the area and its implementation must be coordinated with other ongoing and planned projects that are being built on both sides of the river. Read more about the individual projects that affect the area concerned. A pdf with the projects can be downloaded here.