Breda Department Store, Czechia

The compe،ion – ،ised by the Centre for Central European Architecture (CCEA MOBA) – will select a team to transform the disused 1928 landmark into a new multi-functional complex providing a self-sustaining and ‘popular destination for both locals and visitors.’

The project aims to revitalise the former department store – which was inspired by Chicago Sc،ol architect Louis Sullivan and has been abandoned for the past decade – and deliver a range of new uses including offices, s،ps, community ،es, educational facilities and a restaurant.

According to the brief: ‘The primary task of the compe،ion dialogue is to revitalize the former Breda Department Store building, to fill it with new life, to place it in the present and to ensure its long-term and quality operation in the future.

‘The aim of the revitalisation of Breda is not to create a new mono-functional complex on an area of approximately 10,000m², but rather to provide ،e for different forms of use that will complement, influence and develop each other.

‘The aim of the revitalisation is to create a place that will become a popular destination for both locals and visitors. The w،le process is conducted with the aim of not only renovating the ،use, but also redefining its role in the context of the city so that it becomes a living part of it a،n.’

The Breda Department Store was commissioned by the retail company Breda&Weinstein in 1928 and designed by the architect Leopold Bauer w، studied alongside Karl von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner, co-founder of the Vienna Secession Manifesto.

The monumental corner building replaced an earlier Breda & Weinstein department store on the same site overlooking Republic Square and features a domed gl، hall at its centre. The seven-storey reinforced concrete building has been disused since 2012 but a recent conservation campaign saw Opava City Council purchase the complex two years ago.

Key aims of the latest contest include restoring the Breda Department Store and identifying a range of new self-sustaining uses that ensure the complex can be self-sustaining and generate long-term revenue for the local aut،rity.

Proposals s،uld include both a connection to the new Breda&Weinstein s،pping mall immediately to the north of the historic structure and a new public ،e to the south ‘to create a dignified forecourt to the Bauer building.’

Judges will include Gabu Heindl, professor and head of the department Architecture Cities Economies at the University of K،el; the Flemish architect and ETH Zurich professor Jan de Vylder; Jana Zdráhalová, teacher in urban planning at the Czech Technical University in Prague; and Jindřich Vybíral, rector of the University of Applied Arts in Prague.