Compact Multi-functional Block

The Czech capital of Prague is considered, not only by tourists, but also by investors, to be among the most interesting sites in Eastern Europe. About three kilometers away, north-east of the historic city center, in the quarter of Karlín, the Amazon Court multi-functional complex was completed as the third of all in all five buildings within the “River City“ developmental area. The large-scale block, rich in detail, by Danish architect Schmidt Hammer Lassen, integrates nearly 20,000 square meters of flexible office areas as well as stores, apartments and a hotel, all spread across seven floors. The building-high atrium at the heart of the new building allows plenty of daylight coming in to illuminate the offices oriented towards the inside and also serves as an end-to-end public passage leading to the river Vltava located to the North.

Sophisticated Design

The new building’s outer façade has been designed as a moved collage of asymmetrically shaped brightly colored granite elements and negatively inserted glass areas by Schmidt Hammer Lassen. The structure gets additional dynamics through the powerful jutties and offsets in the front area, where a large glass front creates a flowing transition between the inside and the outside.

The design concept rich in variety is seamlessly continued by the 32 m high atrium with its glass bridges, useable as office areas, spanning freely across the room. Unlike the outdoor area, the interior panels have been equipped with floral patterns painted red, orange, yellow and green in cooperation with Danish artist. Despite this trick and the additional green, the inner courtyard feels strangely sterile and lifeless. But still, the transparent foil roof allows plenty of daylight coming in.

Sustainable Building Technology

For all other window areas, a special clear glass has been chosen, allowing daylight coming in as usual, but also minimizing the heat as a result of the sunrays coming in. An extra optimization of the energy balance is made possible through the groundwater used for heating up and cooling down of the fresh air coming from the river as well as the deployment of heat recovery systems. All in all, the energy requirements of Amazon Court were able to be reduced by nearly 50 per cent compared with conventionally built office buildings. A remarkable result which contributed to the new building having received the MIPIM Architectural Review Future Project Award in the category “office building”.