What does Masterplan mean?
The fact that Masterplan is the name of a German powermetal group from 2021, as wikipedia informs us, is not so interesting to us now (although it's a real kick), we are concerned with the development context of Masterplan, which carries a kind of primary structural, technical and functional essence of the future district, determining the framework form of Nová Zbrojovka. It divides the 22.5 hectares into blocks, defines spaces according to their functions into residential, office, retail or civic and public amenity spaces, with an emphasis on their optimal ratio and interconnection, including interrelation with the surrounding city structure. It also proposes the concept of backbone infrastructure and transport and its connection to the existing one. All this with our basic idea of sustainability.
"The implementation of such an extensive architectural and urban planning study is a unique approach. It is clear that smaller or mono-functional projects do not need such an analysis, but most large-scale development projects are also based only on the establishment of basic urban planning principles and the design of the material solution,‘ says Ivona Uherková, architect of Nová Zbrojovka, describing the development practice, adding, ’The finances and design capacity invested in the creation of this multi-criteria analysis at the very beginning of the project represent a great responsibility for the investor with regard to their long-term return, and few are prepared to bear this financial risk."
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Condition at the takeover of the former Zbrojovka site corresponding to the brownfield | Cleaned area after necessary demolition - 106 buildings had to be demolished mainly due to poor statics or pollution |
We are looking for a master for our plan
When creating Nová Zbrojovka, we decided to go the route of organising architectural competitions, which, although more time-consuming and costly, guarantee the diversity and quality of the district. And right from the start we went big, our first competition challenge in 2018 was to develop an architectural and urban design of Nová Zbrojovka in the form of a Masterplan. Participation was abundant and from a total of 14 conceptual studies created by renowned architects, we selected the design of the leading Czech firm Kuba & Pilař architects, among others, as the Architects of the Year 2022, for the final collaboration.
The Masterplan of Nová Zbrojovka was the largest project for Kuba & Pilař architects to date and they were thrilled with the opportunity. Tomáš Pilař shared with us an amusing comparison of the investors' approach, which suggests that they enjoy working on a project of this size: ‘Paradoxically, a project of this scale can be easier for a large investor to execute thanks to set rules, clear milestones, distance and professionalism than the project preparation of a single-family house, which is often burdened by irrational family discussions and the inability to make decisions.’ We are more than satisfied with the selection of the authors of the Masterplan, their approach and designs are in line with our vision, as evidenced by the subsequent collaboration on the architectural preparation of four other buildings in Nová Zbrojovka.
The image of the New Zbrojovka is co-created by the city and the public
The competition designs were presented in the premises of the City Architect's Office and the Brno residents, in addition to the city, architects and experts, had the opportunity to interfere with the project in the form of comments and remarks. Whenever possible, in accordance with our popular motto ‘Nová Zbrojovka was, is and will be yours’, we try to involve the general public, future users and residents of Nová Zbrojovka in the creation of the district.
The analysis of all the competition studies became one of the bases for the creation of the final Masterplan, which was completed in 2020, a joint work of the winning office Kuba & Pilař architects and dozens of other subjects - planners, traffic engineers, architects, representatives of the city and related companies (BKOM, DPMB, etc.). At the same time, this analysis was used as an input for the preparation of the zoning plan amendment issued in 2021, which we needed to enable Nová Zbrojovka to become a full-fledged urban district with a complex mix of housing, offices, shops and services.
Winning the public award in the Urban Design 2022 competition reinforces that our vision of creating a new urban district resonates with a lot of people, and that is the most important driver for us.
In the next article, we'll dive deeper and introduce the key principles that define our Masterplan.
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| As a reference to the history of this place, we are preserving 4 important original buildings that will underline the genius loci of the future district |
The image of the New Zbrojovka is co-created by the city and the public
The competition designs were presented in the premises of the City Architect's Office and the Brno residents, in addition to the city, architects and experts, had the opportunity to interfere with the project in the form of comments and remarks. Whenever possible, in accordance with our popular motto ‘Nová Zbrojovka was, is and will be yours’, we try to involve the general public, future users and residents of Nová Zbrojovka in the creation of the district.
The analysis of all the competition studies became one of the bases for the creation of the final Masterplan, which was completed in 2020, a joint work of the winning office Kuba & Pilař architects and dozens of other subjects - planners, traffic engineers, architects, representatives of the city and related companies (BKOM, DPMB, etc.). At the same time, this analysis was used as an input for the preparation of the zoning plan amendment issued in 2021, which we needed to enable Nová Zbrojovka to become a full-fledged urban district with a complex mix of housing, offices, shops and services.
