Apartments, Offices, and Retail to Replace Brutalist Transgas Building

Plans are progressing for a new development on the site of the former Transgas building in Prague’s Vinohrady district.

The brutalist building, designed by architect Václav Aulický, was demolished in 2020.

Developers expect to receive a zoning permit by the end of 2024, with construction potentially starting in the summer of 2025. The project, a collaboration between Penta and PSN, is estimated to cost around CZK 2 billion and could be completed by mid-2027.

“Over the past six months, the site has been prepared and utilities have been relocated,” said spokesperson Martin Lánský. However, a new construction law introduced in July 2023 could potentially impact timelines.

The winning design for the new development, by Jakub Cigler Architects, features a mix of apartments, offices, and retail space.

The complex will be similar to the original Transgas building in form, a semi-closed block with a central open space. Cigler Architects have previously collaborated with Penta on projects like Prague’s Aviatica complex and the Quadrio department store.

The original Transgas building, named after the gas pipeline it housed, was built between 1972 and 1978 and served as the central control center for the pipeline and the Federal Ministry of Fuel and Energy.

Designed by Aulický, it incorporated elements of brutalist, early postmodern, and high-tech styles.

Aulický, born in 1944, is best known for the Žižkov television tower and high-rise buildings on Pankrác Plain in Prague. Transgas was one of his first major projects.