The lobby and entrance halls of the hotels are no longer just about waiting for check-in or the arrival of a taxi. The trend is to use common areas creatively and functionally. In the lobby of the Vienna House hotels you will find space for fun, work, and relaxation.

What comes to your mind in connection with the hotel as one of the main attributes? In addition to the location and the kitchen, it will definitely be comfort. Most guests want to relax after a long journey when arriving to the hotel. They want to look around, sit down, prepare their documents, or have the coveted coffee. Comfortable armchairs, ambient music, good lighting, and number of tables to put stuff away. This is what comfort looks like in the lobby according to Vienna House. You will be happy to meet colleagues or friends here. You can work here, have fun, and spend time creatively. Nowadays, it is absolutely essential that these common areas are flexible and cover a wide range of requirements.

Coworking at the hotel

“We perceive the requirements of our guests. Many of them want to work or sort things outside their room for various reasons. Whether they need more space, a change of environment or want to enjoy a piece of cake with work. Placing a coworking table in the lobby was a clear step in the right direction,” explains Marek Páleník, Director of
Vienna House Diplomat Prague. Here you will find a long table with hidden tilting sockets, lamps, and comfortable chairs, as well as plenty of other corners to sit and work. Of course, there is a free WiFi, sockets at every step and also two desktop computers if necessary.

Both coffee and a football match

An important space within the lobby is, of course, a bar or cafe. It is a place where you can spend your free time, meet for business breakfast and lunch, or enjoy a pleasant evening by the fireplace. The bar menu must therefore be adapted to all these activities. It is therefore necessary to include both excellent coffee and great wine on the menu, as well as something to replenish energy. The offer of food is also specific, as added by Štěpán Sova, director of Vienna House Easy Pilsen: “Speed, quality of ingredients and simplicity are the basis. Whether you go for a business lunch or want a sandwich with your afternoon coffee, you can’t wait an hour for a meal. That’s not good for a cafe in the lobby.” The lobby bar often has widescreen TVs or projection screens. So that you can watch big events such as the Olympic Games or championships here.

Space for everyone

It is important that the lobby areas are barrier-free, including toilets. Guests with disabilities, or parents with prams and the elderly, should feel comfortable and natural. Equipment for children is another convenient accessory. How many times have you traveled with children and needed at least a minibus? At Vienna House, they are ready for kids even in the common areas, whether it is a changing table, highchairs or even board games for rent.

Vienna House hotels are flexible and open to all. They now work without restrictions with all services. Do you want to go to Prague, Pilsen or somewhere else? Check out www.viennahouse.com.

Redakce VH

The InterCora development group has been operating in the Czech market since 1991. It is primarily engaged in the construction and rental of commercial real estate for retail.

InterCora already has over 300 shopping centres with a total area of 2 million sq m on their account, these being mainly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. Other projects are in the preparation phase or under construction. In our country, they are, e.g., in Dvůr Králové, Písek and Přeštice, and as well in Slovakia – Košice, Martin, Veľký Meder II., Liptovský Mikuláš and Dubnica nad Váhom.

The shopping centre Zlaťák – more than the 100^th InterCora’s project in the Czech Republic, has recently, on 24^th June, opened in Jeseník. It is located in neighbourhood of supermarkets Billa and Lidl, near the exit road to Poland. There are 75 parking spaces, including four for the disabled and one for parents with prams. The area of the new shopping centre is approximately 2,700 sq m and is shared by seven tenants. “Most of them are proven tenants, which customers also know from our other shopping centres – KiK and Planeo elektro, each of which occupies an area of about 700 sq m. Then there is the chemist’s Teta, homeware Banquet, toys Wiky and pet shop Super Zoo. Each of these units covers an area of about 200–300 sq m,” says Vilma Taborová, Manager of the Expansion and Rental Department, introduces the shopping centre Zlaťák, adding: “Our customers – and not only them – can refresh in Pepe’s Café run by Pepe’s Company from Břeclav. They have their own production of delicious desserts, ice cream and fresh products, such as salads. We have together realized an operation in the Nové Zámky Shopping Centre in Slovakia with them and we are preparing further cooperation.”

Despite the coronavirus epidemic, the construction of the shopping centre Zlaťák proceeded precisely according to schedule – it commenced last autumn after the demolition of the original building – the bakery with the aim of InterCora to commence operations within the deadline set by the future lease agreements.

Ing. Ivan Hlaváček, the Company Director, says: “We bought the land together with the existing bakery building. Following an agreement with the town of Jeseník, we postponed the demolition of the bakery and allowed it to operate during the covid period, half a year after the purchase of the property.” InterCora managed to meet the opening date mainly thanks to their huge commitment and quality work of all those who participated in the shopping centre Zlaťák project.

PR

In the beginning of June, KKCG Real Estate Group (KKCG REG) presented a new building complex, BOŘISLAVKA CENTRUM, where the first shops were opened as well.

The office and shopping complex consists of four irregular glass crystals, creating a vibrant local centre directly above the Bořislavka metro station and underlining the importance of the city’s Evropská radial route. The modern architecture is significantly complemented by works by contemporary Czech artists. The KKCG group’s companies owned by the entrepreneur Karel Komárek will move into the new offices in June, too.

The biggest KKCG REG’s project

After almost 30 years, Prague 6 has managed to resolve, in architectural terms, the complicated plot of land where Evropská, Liberijská and Kladenská streets intersect. The investor, KKCG REG, purchased the land in 2012 and subsequently launched an international architectural design competition. The winning design was prepared by Aulík Fišer Architekti (AFA). The main authors of the design are Jan Aulík and Leoš Horák.

“We pride ourselves on the high quality of all our structures. The ‘Crystals’ at Bořislavka is our biggest project to date and we are very proud of it. It is a valuable contemporary architecture that complements this part of Prague 6 in the urban-development terms. It pleasantly develops civic amenities and offers great working and commercial premises. The unique works of art represent for me the perfect finishing touch to the project,” said Petr Pujman, CEO of KKCG REG. In his opinion, the construction itself, worth more than CZK 3.5 billion, took three years and was managed directly by the investor’s team in cooperation with the construction-management company, Ruby Project Management. “Although the Covid-19 pandemic hampered some of our works, I am happy that we have been able to get the building approved on 30^th April, 2021. We will also meet the original plan and bring the entire complex into full operation this year,” added P. Pujman.

Prestigious award prior to completion

Last year, BOŘISLAVKA CENTRUM won the Best International Office Development 2019/2020 award that is presented within the International Property Awards competition in London. “We have followed up on the development of urban schemes for the modern city which we have been focusing on for a long time. Our aim is to find a new form of the urban block development that would be able to evoke the qualities of public space of a historic city, meet the demands placed on the internal environment of the buildings and allow for individual architectural form,” explained architect Jan Aulík, one of the founders of AFA. In accordance with the investor’s instructions, his team created a structure of irregular natural shapes, crystals, on the building plot which gradually and smoothly passes into a park in the eastern part. The geometry of a crystal corresponds to the internal layout and function of the building. The chosen form allows to respond to completely different environments and profile grades of the surrounding streets, while offering unique views of Prague. Although the nature of BOŘISLAVKA CENTRUM is that of an urban block development, it is permeable for the public and naturally interconnects Kladenská and Evropská streets. “The objective of our work was not only the aesthetics of individual buildings and the rationality of their internal layout but, above all, the environment around and between them. The permeable block concept offers a range of public spaces of different nature, largely sunlit and protected from the traffic of Evropská street,” added J. Aulík.

Art in public spaces

A story in itself of BOŘISLAVKA CENTRUM is fine art that complements the complex. “The fact that the investor of the building, Karel Komárek, and his wife Štěpánka are wise and knowledgeable people plays a huge role here,” commented Petr Pujman. One of the artworks ‘tailor-made for the premises’ is, for example, a glass sculpture called ‘Iceberg’ which illuminates the entrance lobby. It is the largest work made by the Lasvit company in the Czech Republic and one of its largest in the world. Its author is Lasvit’s art director, Maxim Velčovský. “It was a huge challenge for us because we were working with a vast space and a unique technology,” he pointed out. In his opinion, the design respects and emphasises the architectural intent which does not end with the design of the building but is an integration of artistic and design disciplines so that all aspects and elements of the building work in harmony with each other. The entrance lobby is freshened up by an epiphyte consisting of 76 acacia wood poles which are planted with 4,000 green and flowering plants. The creator of this unconventionally conceived garden is the architect Zdeněk Sendler together with the architects who designed the building. He created similar islands of vegetation also on the upper floors of some of the buildings. The artworks have one common idea: we try to bring new approaches, to look for original solutions. And this is not just Lasvit’s ‘Iceberg’, but, for example, a sculpture that is currently being created in Federico Díaz’s workshop.  The sculpture, called ‘Up the Mountain’, evokes an old path that once led through the place, and is being made by a special robotic arm. The work by the Czech-Argentine artist will be completed on the piazzetta between the third and fourth crystals in the autumn.

Office building with shops and services

The buildings were unveiled today and will comprise 30,000 sq m of offices, while more than 60 retail units will use approximately 10,000 sq m of the shopping area. There are also 580 parking spaces underground, where electric charging stations are a matter of course. For office tenants, there is a bike room available including sanitary facilities.

The crystals of the buildings form a new social and business centre of the Prague 6 borough and, at the same time, they will become a new headquarters for companies, belonging to the KKCG group owned by the entrepreneur Karel Komárek. Employees of KKCG, KKCG REG, Sazka, SAZKA Group, MND, KKCG Technologies and others will be moving here in the near future. In the autumn, employees of Škofin (Volkswagen Financial Services), Pražská vodohospodářská společnost (Prague water management company), IGT Czech Republic and MM&C are expected to move here.

At the beginning of June, the first shopping arcade with Lidl store, dm drugstore, Knihy Dobrovský, SAZKA, a branch of Komerční banka, Papírnictví AKM, Tescoma, GRANDOPTICAL, Valmont Tobacco, Deluxe Flowers, Exchange and The Miners Caffee was opened, too. There is barrier-free access from Kladenská Street, directly from the subway and from underground garages. Starting from September, BOŘISLAVKA CENTRUM will expand the range of services to include some more shops and gastro-corners in the second shopping arcade.

PR / Photo: For KKCG – BoysPlayNice