Residential district near a new metro station
The Nové Dvory transformation area, with an area of about 30 hectares, is one of the City of Prague’s largest continuous property holdings. In the vicinity of the new metro station, which is expected to be completed around 2029, Prague will build a municipal district with affordable rental housing and complete civic amenities in the form of a kindergarten and primary school, a cultural centre, space for shops and services, public transport lines, and facilities for sports and recreation. By connecting the Jalodvorská louka park with new squares, a generous public space intended for recreation will be created. The new district is expected to provide homes for up to 5,000 people and job opportunities for approximately 5,000 more.
Nové Dvory zoning study
Studio Unit architects has prepared a zoning study of the entire transformation area for the Department of Urban Development of Prague City Hall, which was discussed with representatives of the Prague 4 and 12 municipal districts.
It was presented to the public as part of the participation process and approved in September 2022. It represents a societal agreement on the development of the area and is the basic conceptual starting point for the preparation of the development of the entire site and its individual projects. It is based on the principles of sustainable development and a compact city of short distances and full of greenery.

Four pillars of sustainable municipal development

• Social
  Diverse groups of citizens, regardless of age or socioeconomic status, will live in Nové Dvory. The intention of the City of Prague is to build quality affordable rental housing which will be intended primarily for so-called preferred professions (teachers, health care workers, police officers), single parent families, and for independently living seniors.
• Economic
  In the central part of Nové Dvory, especially near the future metro station and to a lesser extent also on the new squares, the construction of administrative and retail space is planned. Revenue from the new municipal properties will significantly support the economic return on public investment in the area.
• Environmental
  The intensive use of the site, which is directly connected to various modes of public transportation with sufficient public services, including education, is a key parameter for the sustainability and efficacy of the development of this new part of the city. This will also create a generous public space consisting of several squares in Nové Dvory, some of which will be connected to the Jalodvorská louka park. The development of a so-called blue-green infrastructure is planned for the area, including rainwater catchment that soaks into the soil and is not drained away by sewers, as well as the cultivation of the Jalodvorská louka park and the creation of new green areas. By building a metro station and extending the tram line from Modřany, the city will support the use of public transport.
• Cultural and educational
  A number of cultural and leisure facilities are part of the Nové Dvory proposal, including a nursery school, a primary school and possibly a secondary school, a cultural centre, sports hall, and outdoor playground. The restaurants and cafés that will be opened in the commercial parts of the project will also be of considerable importance. Current and future residents will no longer have to frequently commute to other parts of Prague 4 (to Pankrác, for example) or directly to the city centre.

Nové Dvory spatial model
In the 2022/2023 academic year, PDS continued its cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague. During the winter semester, students in the Department of Building Theory took part in the design of a large-format 3 x 3 metre 3D model of Nové Dvory. The model was exhibited in the foyer of the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague in Prague’s Dejvice district from 23 February to 16 March 2023 for both the expert and general public. It can now be found in the PDS headquarters in the Radniční domy building in
the centre of Prague, and can be visited by appointment.

First projects
Investment and project preparation is beginning on a total of almost 300,000 m² GFA (gross floor area, the total potential after approval of the pending zoning plan amendments), especially for municipal housing. At the same time, a significant part of it, estimated today at around 130,000 m², will be used for offices, restaurants, cafés, shops and services, a nursery school and primary school, a cultural and community centre and sports facilities. The preparation of the new district is taking place in parallel with the construction of a new metro station with an extension of the tram
line from Modřany, which will end at the metro. The site is divided into individual projects that will be implemented gradually over a period of 10 to 15 years.

Jalový Dvůr housing complex
The Jalový Dvůr housing complex is the furthest along in preparations with around 40 residential units, for which PDS has tested variants on solutions for a building and construction system in terms of the building’s life cycle (50 and 80 years). The variants were: 1) brick from sand-lime blocks, 2) brick from ceramic blocks, and 3) wood from solid wood cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. The following indicators were calculated for each variant: internal rate of return and net present value. At the same time, a SWOT analysis identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats of the design variants. Based on an internal assessment of the above parameters, the most advantageous variants were the lime-sand bricks and CLT panels.

Durychova residential building
The residential project 09 – Durychova I is located at the intersection of Novodvorská and Durychova streets. 45 new municipal flats are expected to be built here. PDS commissioned a volumetric verification study of the construction in 2022. In 2024 it will select a designer to contract for design work for the residential building on Durychova street.

In 2023, preparatory work was carried out on other projects, in particular the multifunctional Nové Dvory PROJECT 1, a project which is directly connected to the future Nové Dvory metro station.