Rohan City will be a philosophy-inspired district. Streets and parks will be named after important thinkers
Prague, 3 April 2025 - The streets and parks in the new Rohan City district being built in Prague 8 on Rohan Island, will be named after famous philosophers. They will thus commemorate Czech philosophers such as Jan Sokol, Radim Palouš, Erazim Kohák, Ladislav Hejdánek and J. L. Fischer, as well as world-renowned philosophers like Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Emmanuel Levinas and John Rawls. The new square will be named after French philosopher Simone Weil. Sekyra Group is the investor behind Rohan City, one of the largest urban developments in central Prague and one that aims to become the green centre of the city. The vision of its founder, Luděk Sekyra, was to honour important Czech and world philosophers through the street names. This idea was supported by the Prague 8 municipal district, the Václav Havel Library and a number of prominent figures. The concept for naming the streets and parks has already been approved by a topographical commission and Prague City Council. The Rohan City project will be completed by 2035. It will provide housing and jobs for 11,000 people. The total investment will reach CZK 25 billion.
Since 2021, Sekyra Group has been transforming the former brownfield site on Rohan Island in Prague 8 into a fully-fledged urban district that will include architecturally impressive residences, modern office buildings, premises for services, leisure and sports, a school and extensive green areas. The new green centre of Prague will be created here.
“Philosophy has been my lifelong passion, so I am truly delighted that Rohan City will be a philosophy-inspired district, and apparently the first of its kind. I am very pleased about the acceptance of our proposal to honour important Czech philosophers and great figures of Western thought who have fundamentally shaped the character of our civilisation and our thinking about values, morality, freedom and justice, both through their work and, often, through their attitudes. This is of particular significance at a time when these values are being questioned and shaken to their core. I strive to ensure that the districts we build always express transcendence and a message. The names of prominent personalities already adorn 23 streets and five parks. The Smíchov City project pays tribute to great female figures, and in Žižkov City we would like to honour writers and dissidents,” explains Luděk Sekyra, founder of Sekyra Group, adding with reference to the focus of his charitable activities: “My foundation has long supported philosophy, ethics and human rights, and so I am delighted it will be a partner of the Philosophy Festival that will be held every year in the streets of Rohan City and at our new headquarters, which bears the symbolic name Arché, the philosophical first principle and beginning.”
Symbolism in the Rohan City district
The streets parallel to Rohanské nábřeží street, which borders the Rohan City project, will be named after philosophers J. L. Fischer, Jan Sokol, Immanuel Kant, Jacques Derrida, John Stuart Mill and Roger Scruton, legendary supporters of domestic dissent. The streets perpendicular to them will commemorate philosophers Emmanuel Levinas, Radim Palouš, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Edmund Husserl, Rudolf Carnap, Erazim Kohák, Ladislav Hejdánek, Thomas Hobbes and entrepreneur Vlastimil Zátka. The parks will also be named after famous philosophers. The park closer to the Vltava River will be named Locke Park after John Locke, an English advocate of freedom and tolerance. The neighbouring park will commemorate Derek Parfit, the great British moral philosopher. The third park has been named Rawls after the American liberal philosopher John Rawls. We want to honour the memory of Simone Weil, French philosopher and social activist, with a new square.
The lives and works of the personalities whose names will adorn the new streets and parks were presented to journalists by leading philosophers and public intellectuals such as Daniel Kroupa, Martin Palouš, Jiří Přibáň, Jacques Rupnik, Michael Žantovský and Jeff McMahan, holder of the Sekyra and White’s Professorship of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University.
Sekyra Group is currently working on the largest urban development projects in Prague. In addition to Rohan City, these include Smíchov City and Žižkov City. However, Rohan City is exceptional for its great symbolism of peace. During World War II, bells confiscated from Czech churches were collected here and transported to war factories in Hamburg. These bells will be commemorated by a newly cast bell weighing almost a tonne, which will be placed in a park that will form part of the new district.
First stage almost complete
Construction of the Rohan City project began in 2021. “We have successfully applied our Methodology for Investor Participation in the Development of the Capital City of Prague to the Rohan City site, negotiated a joint agreement between the city, the municipal district and the developer, and obtained a contribution for the construction of a primary school and Rohan Park (also known as Maniny Park). A modern district will be created here, including a kilometre-long riverside promenade designed for relaxation and sports, which will be connected to the generously designed Rohan Park prepared by the City of Prague. Parks and public spaces will make up half of Rohan City, connecting to the existing street network and linking Karlín with the planned Rohan Park,” said Petr Hlaváček, deputy lord mayor of the City of Prague.
Four residential buildings with 220 apartments have already been completed as part of the first phase of Rohan City. Two buildings, called Diamanty Karlín, were designed by internationally acclaimed architect Eva Jiřičná and architect Petr Vágner with the AI - DESIGN studio. The other two buildings, called Riviéra Karlín, were designed by architects from EBM Expert. The residential section is complemented by two architecturally distinctive office buildings by Eva Jiřičná (Arché) and Jakub Cigler (A2), which also serve as a barrier to noise from the busy Rohanské nábřeží street. The Arché building has already been completed as the new headquarters of Sekyra Group. “This is an important milestone for us. We are in the centre of a new district and can look forward not only to Eva Jiřičná’s timeless design, but also to state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly technologies,” said Leoš Anderle, CEO of Sekyra Group.
Construction will also begin this year of two luxury residential towers with unique views called Vision Karlín, based on a design by architects Eva Jiřičná and Petr Vágner, and which are part of the first phase of the Rohan City project. This year will also see the start of the second phase of the Rohan City project, which is closest to the city centre, with the construction of four residential blocks for both the individual and rental markets. The residential segment in the second phase of the project will be complemented by three office buildings located along Rohanské nábřeží street, separated from street traffic by a pedestrian walkway and a green belt.
The total leasable area of the administrative buildings, designed by the architectural firms Schindler Seko architekti, A.D.N.S. architekti and Quarta, is over 17,500 square metres. They are designed to meet the A standard and are aiming for LEED PLATINUM sustainability certification. The wellbeing of future employees was taken into account during the design of the buildings. They therefore feature terraces with panoramic views and facilities for sportspeople and cyclists. A restaurant is planned in one of the buildings. The buildings should be completed in the first half of 2028. Preparatory work is also underway on the third phase of the Rohan City project. Construction of the A2 office building, the future headquarters of Banka Creditas, is set to begin this year.
School, new square and greenery
The new district will also feature shops, cafés, sports and relaxation areas, as well as a new school. The school is planned, in cooperation with the Prague 8 municipal district and the City of Prague, between Carnapova, Millova and Kohákova streets and the adjacent cycle path, and will accommodate up to 800 children.
“Work, housing, leisure, nature. Add to that the bonus of the river and public amenities, and we can visualise the future of Rohan Island. This area is currently the largest development site in our municipal district. Three key projects have come together here: the construction of a new city section by developers, a new park on the banks of the Vltava River, and a primary school for almost a thousand children. All three projects must form a functional whole. The role of the municipal district is to oversee the concept of the new district with an emphasis on public spaces and amenities. I am delighted that the project for a new school, costing almost a billion crowns, is moving forward and should be completed by mid-2029 at the latest, and that work is also starting on the project documentation for Maniny Park. I am also pleased that investors are taking good care and cooperating with architects who have a good reputation. Last but not least, I believe that we will continue to find common ground with developers and the City of Prague, which is absolutely essential for the outcome and satisfaction of current and future residents,” said Radomír Nepil, deputy mayor of Prague 8 for spatial development.
The Rohan City project will also include a new central square, which will become the heart of the entire district, a place for gathering and civic activities. This will create a central public space that will serve a similar function to the historic Karlínské náměstí square. The new square will also serve the approximately 30,000 people living in the catchment area. “The creation of a central square is not only the vision of Sekyra Group, which emphasises public space in all its projects, but also a response to suggestions from citizens,” added Leoš Anderle.
The Rohan Island urban study, prepared by architect Pavel Hnilička, which defines the binding requirements for construction in the area, also includes a new square. The study was approved by Prague City Council in 2018. The new central square will be a place where people will go to shop and dine, but will also be a meeting place as it is located in the centre of the entire district, and will be close to the metro, tram, a new large park, a cycle path, a new school and the Vltava River.
According to the plans, almost half of the area within the new project will be made up of parks and public spaces. The existing cycle path will be converted into a wide riverside promenade, which will connect to the future extensive Maniny Park, prepared in cooperation with Prague City Hall and the Institute of Planning and Development. A park of citywide importance will be created, which will retain the character of freely growing greenery and be comparable in size to Stromovka Park. In front of Invalidovna, it will connect to the Kaizlovy sady orchards and continue along the river promenade, which will form the axis of the entire project.
The Rohan City project will be completed by 2035. It will provide housing and jobs for 11,000 people. The total investment will reach CZK 25 billion.
