Prague nixes plans to build glass cube Brand Store in city center

A controversial glass-cube building called Brand Store planned for Prague's city center on high-end Pařížská street will ultimately not be built. Necessary approval from the relevant zoning and landmark authorities will not be granted, which definitively ends the project after long-term public opposition.

The building was initially intended to be built on Miloš Forman Square as part of lengthy renovations dubbed the Old Town Gate project. They include a compelte makeover of Prague's Brutalist InterContinental Hotel which dates back to the 1960s and will be re-branded as the Fairmont Golden Prague Hotel when it reopens, potentially later this year.

But the Brand Store, which would be an entirely new building on what is currently a public square in front of the hotel, immediately drew criticism for its design and placement. The architects later separated the new building from the rest of the Old Town Gate project.

And while the hotel portion of the Old Town Gate project aims to see completion in 2023, the Brand Store will now not be built at all. The community organization Citizens of Prague 1 (Občané Prahy 1) informed the public about the city's decision on social media.

"We are pleased to inform you about the cancellation of the decision to place a 17-meter tall commercial and office building on Miloš Forman Square!" the organization writes on Facebook.

"The City of Prague has canceled the possibility of building Brand Store on the grounds that the plans do not have the positive binding opinions of the Zoning Planning Authority and the Landmark Care Authority, and that these binding opinions cannot be obtained for the design of the building within the scope of the Brand Store project."

The organization credits public opposition to the project for the city's decision. While city officials are up for renovating Miloš Forman Square, opponents have criticized the decision to place a new commercial building on what is currently public space.

"The persistence and the united forces of the local people, who were heard in their appeals especially by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Local Development, paid off," notes Citizens of Prague 1.

While work on the Fairmont Golden Prague Hotel part of the Old Town Gate project aims to be completed by the end of this year, the area will open without the neighboring Brand Store. Further plans to renovate Miloš Forman Square are currently TBA.