International Competition for a Temporary Dispatch Hall at Florenc: Teams from 5 Continents Entered, Studio Upstructure Wins

photo 05/12/2026

The architectural platform INSPIRELI organized an open architectural competition for a design of a temporary check-in hall at the Florenc bus station in Prague. The project investor is Penta Real Estate.

The investor of the project is Penta Real Estate – a developer whose portfolio includes, among others, residential buildings Sky Park by ZAHA HADID and office buildings Masaryčka. The competition results confirmed that the topic of transforming one of the busiest transport hubs in the heart of Prague resonates far beyond the borders of the Czech Republic.

Global Interest in the Prague Project
One hundred architectural teams and individuals from all corners of the world registered for the first round of the competition. Registration included participants from more than 40 countries across 5 continents — from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. Among the competitors were established architectural offices and young studios from across Europe, as well as from distant places such as Bangladesh, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Nigeria, Argentina, Japan, Iran, and the USA.

INSPIRELI: From Students to Professionals Worldwide
The competition was organized by the INSPIRELI platform, which stands behind the world's largest student architectural competition. Over years of work with the student community, INSPIRELI has built a unique global network of architects and naturally expanded it — by opening international competitions also to practicing architects. Florenc is one of the first major projects that puts this ambition into practice: professional teams from dozens of countries competed for a real commission in the center of Prague, with the platform ensuring both the organization and the international reach of the competition.

Eight Finalists, Three Winners
Eight studies advanced from the first round to the final:

• Studio MULTI (United Kingdom)
• Abrama Architekti (Slovakia)
• Upstructure (Czech Republic)
• Kolektiv (Czech Republic)
• Blue Dot Architecture (Czech Republic)
• ODDO Architects (Czech Republic / Vietnam)
• Auxt Architekti (Slovakia)
• Alessandro Moriconi & Giuseppe Marrone (Italy)

The international composition of the final eight itself speaks to the quality and openness of the competition — alongside Czech and Slovak studios, offices from the United Kingdom, Italy, and teams with international backgrounds made it among the best.

The jury decided as follows:
1st place — Upstructure (Czech Republic)
2nd place — Studio MULTI (United Kingdom)
3rd place — Abrama Architekti (Slovakia)

The winning studio Upstructure, led by Pavel Paseka and Martin Žatečka, convinced the jury with the architectural solution for a temporary structure that must meet the demanding operational requirements of a modern bus terminal while cultivating public space in the center of Prague.

The new hall will serve as a temporary solution during the transformation of the area, which may last up to 20 years. The proposal also includes the surroundings of the hall, including the use of the arches of the iconic Negrelli viaduct for community, cultural, or commercial activities.