The Czech Republic is moving forward with plans to construct what will become the country’s tallest skyscraper. But even at 442 feet tall, Prague’s Top Tower won’t turn heads for its height alone. People will more likely gawk at the equally massive shipwreck leaning against the building’s side.
Architecture firm Black n’ Arch, architect Tomáš Císař, and internationally renowned sculpturist David Černý first announced the surreal project in 2019. The collaborative team behind Top Tower initially described an intent for the structure to highlight the climate crisis (particularly rising sea levels) as well as humanity’s resiliency.
Regardless of its message, the unconventional, explicitly “post-apocalyptic” idea was immediately met with criticism from local residents, politicians, and conservationists. Critics argued that Top Tower would clash with centuries of renowned Gothic and Baroque aesthetics. Meanwhile, Top Tower’s designers contended the building’s location in the city’s business district ensures it will be far removed from UNESCO-listed Old Town, and won’t obscure views of historic Prague Castle. After years of back-and-forth, it seems the project is finally moving forward after designers and city representatives signed an updated agreement that includes a $3.65 million investment into local infrastructure from the skyscraper’s backers.
Once completed, Top Tower will be about 30 feet taller than Brno’s AZ Tower, the Czech Republic’s current record holder. The mixed-use complex will include around 250 apartments along with retail and office spaces, as well as a cultural center and underground pedestrian walkway. Earlier renderings also depict a public observation deck inside the “shipwreck” composed of red steel and glass and decorated with various plants wrapping around the structure. A sculpture meant to resemble the vessel’s propeller will mark the ground floor entrance. It’s currently unclear if the project will look substantially different from the original concept art, but it will be a conversation-starter even if it only somewhat resembles Černý’s original designs.
Černý himself is no stranger to artistic controversy. In 2019, the sculptor garnered international headlines after the Czech Republic (which held the EU presidency at the time) unveiled an installation believed to have been commissioned to 27 European artists. Instead, “Entropa” was entirely conceived and created by Černý and two associates, and featured a satirical sculpture for each EU member nation. Germany, for example, was depicted as a crisscross of highways resembling a swastika, while the Netherlands’ flood-threatened minarets evoked its internal religious tensions. In Bulgaria, government leaders summoned the Czech ambassador to Sofia to explain why their nation resembled a series of “squat toilets.”
Top Tower’s backers previously estimated it could take less than three years to finish construction, meaning that the ship could arrive in Prague as early as 2028.
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