Market Hall

The area encompassing the block of Dukelská Street, along with the inner block and the Sokol gym the end of Hořická Street, was identified as a potential development area for new civic amenities following unsuccessful attempts to revitalize Prague Suburbs (Pražské Předměstí). Hradec Králové had long faced challenges related to insufficient space for markets, and the exterior capacities in squares and open spaces were inadequate, failing to provide comfort for both sellers and shoppers.
 

The contract for the project was awarded to the architect Karel Schmied from the Stavoprojekt company in Hradec Králové. He decided to design the building as a piece of technical architecture, intending to extensively utilize prefabricated elements, making it adaptable to changing needs for expansion or modification of traffic. The project had three parts: a sales hall situated on the corner of Chelčického and Hořická Streets, an administrative and warehouse wing facing east onto Hořická Street, and a courtyard wing with warehouses and facilities for receiving goods. However, historical aerial photographs from the 1980s and 1990s indicate the courtyard wing was never constructed.
 

The 900 m2 sales hall is nestled between four cylindrical towers, three of which face the street and contain spiral staircases. A fourth tower rising from the storage area contained “media”. The main entrance faced Chelčického Street, accommodating carts and two entirely separate businesses: a fish and game store and a florist with gardening supplies. The sales hall itself was designed as a flexible supermarket without partitions or internal divisions. Only the checkout area was designed at the entrance, with the meat section opposite, connected to the meat cold storage, meat preparation, and cold storage of sausages. The meat section was also linked to the deli section on one side, sharing the cold storage of sausages, then extending to the cold storage and deli prep area. On the other side, the meat section was connected to the bottle buying section, requiring a spacious storage area.
  

In addition to the above mentioned cold storage, preparation areas, and warehouses, the storage and administrative wing featured a food freezer, a milk and fat cold storage, a potato cold storage, a southern fruit cold storage, an apple and domestic fruit cold storage, an onion vegetable cold storage, a cold storage for other vegetables and beverages, an administrative reception area, and a battery cart recharging area. The goods receiving ramp was situated next to the embossed surface trash warehouse.
 

The unrealized tract was to intended to include a large dry storage area, offices, poultry cold storage, fish cold storage, fish and poultry cold storage, venison cold storage, unrefrigerated storage, cleaning and maintenance areas, trash cold storage, and packaging areas.
 

A covered area for outdoor sales, crowned by two cylindrical towers, was planned to face Chelčického Street. One tower was intended to contain a spiral staircase, while the other was designated for outdoor market toilets. Despite its intended purpose for outdoor retail sales, as indicated by aerial photographs, this covered area was never constructed. In the late 1980s, a new building with shops and other amenities was erected to the south, facing Chelčického Street, which influenced the subsequent phases of the market construction.
 

The prefabricated technical appearance of the corrugated iron-clad area as well as the massive cylindrical towers topped with glass domes, suggests that the architect well grasped the evolving methods and dynamics of retail operations. Consequently, the design aimed to create a multi-purpose and adaptable building, aligned with the trends of high-tech architecture.
 

The challenges in utilizing the building after 1990 were not solely attributed to the shift from a centrally planned economy to a capitalist one. The entire complex was never completed according to the original plan, resulting in an incomplete service and product range the investor had envisioned. Additionally, the promised transformation of the site into a new center of commerce and life also did not materialize, and exterior retail trade remained concentrated in the Prior department store for the subsequent two decades.
 

The author would like to thank Karel Schmied Jr. for providing the documents.
 

LZL