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Prague, Czech Republic · Masterplan · Ground Up
“There was just the abandoned port — a couple of scrappy old buildings, some warehouses, equipment barns and a few 19th century / early 20th century stucco and brick port administration buildings. I took a room in the attic of one of them, the Captain's house, where I sat with my laptop on an old wooden desk and started the project.”
“This was one of the three large projects that initiated the partnership I formed with two Israeli engineers to manage and deliver large-scale developments in Prague. We were assigned by the developer — a consortium of international investors including Deutsche Bank's real estate fund — to hire and manage the team of architects & engineers and the general contractor for the design & construction of the Lighthouse office tower and the design of the port master plan.”
“At the time Czech, like the other post-Soviet countries, was transitioning from state-run communism to privatized capitalist development. These were the early days. Most of the local consultants able to adapt were young architects, engineers and project managers — which required teaching them techniques like value engineering as much as managing them. Exciting and frustrating at times. But they were skilled and talented.”
“Two decades later, after the locals thought we were crazy for building in this abandoned port — only a few tram stops, one of which we installed, from the Centrum of Prague — in a neighborhood they thought no one would work in, much less live in, Holešovice is now a bustling neighborhood with class A offices, residences, bars, restaurants, and hip retail spaces. One of the places to be.”
“Just as we were about to sign the contract for construction of Phase One, the office tower complex, a 700-year flood occurred. After days of rain, prior to digital coordination, the river masters opened all of the upper river locks causing the Vltava to rise eight meters in three days — setting back the project 6 months while the city engineered new flood-protection measures and we removed the sludge from the 4-story subterranean basement we had just completed for the underground parking. WOW, speaking of force majeure.”
The flood passed. The build kept going.
First the basin, dug out of the old port — then the first tower, rising alone on the waterfront.
From the Captain's attic the arc of the port development was visible from the beginning.