What if the river became the heart of the town again?

Our competition entry for the new centre of Špindlerův Mlýn begins there. The main road lifts away from the Elbe and follows the trace of the old mill race, the line water took through the town long before traffic did. The riverbank it leaves behind is returned to people. From the footbridges to the new square, the waterfront runs unbroken. A visitor centre, a promenade, and a town square that finds its edge on the water rather than the road. The buildings sit in the valley like river stones, settled rather than arranged. Between them the ground opens into streets, passages and courtyards, each one turning towards the water or the mountains beyond. Timber and stone. Pitched roofs gathering into a roofscape that reads as Krkonoše at first glance and as something newer at second. A centre shaped by water and landscape rather than by traffic.

Competition, second round, 2026
Špindlerův Mlýn, Czech Republic

GRAS with hůla+hájek architekti
Landscape WILDLING X
Transport Progeok
Visualisations Portraits of Projects, Maroš Mitro