Railway Administration Headquarters

Our design for the Railway Administration Headquarters took second place in an international architectural competition. We presented it as a horizontal structure, whose layout connects to the roof of the Smíchov terminal. It occupies a truly exceptional location in the city and has many faces—from a distance, it can be perceived as a sculpture, and up close as a fragment of the street; from the upper floors, views will be offered of the entire city of Prague as well as into the distance along the Vltava River and the tracks to the south. When viewed from the rail yard, it appears as a single structure, imposing and proportionate to the vast open space of the rail yard; when viewed from Nádražní Street, it appears as two buildings, on a smaller scale. The architectural expression is restrained, but we placed emphasis on the quality and durability of the materials. The Railway Administration headquarters will be a state investment—it is therefore rational, economical, and compact; it does not show off, yet in its added value, it is sculpturally plastic and poetic.