Podbaba-Troja-Bohnice Cable Car

Prague’s public transit authority plans to build a new cable car system across the Vltava River, linking the districts of Podbaba, Troja, and Bohnice into the city’s tram network and slashing journey times for its residents. Extending the tram network to the top of the outlying Bohnice is difficult and costly due to the local topography of the Troja Valley, and a cable car is a relatively low cost and quick solution to deliver significant positive social impact.

Featuring three stations and five pylons, the new cableway will provide public transport connections to each district’s residential areas and additionally improve accessibility for tourists to the city’s zoo and botanical gardens.

We worked closely with local Prague engineering partner Agile CE, and cableway specialist DCSA, contributing experience from our involvement in the successful completion of London’s own cable car link which crosses the River Thames in the south east of the city. Alongside local architect Boele, we fully immersed ourselves in Czech culture to gain a deeper understanding of the brief.

Simplicity of form was one of the key drivers for our design; the local climate made it possible to propose open platforms to offer passengers new views of the city, further to reducing the size and impact of stations on the environment.

Unlike conventional cable cars, the pylon design is sculptural and elegant due to the two columns which rise and spread out to form wings. As well as providing structural function, these elements serve to mask the visual impact of the machinery at the top. We worked hard to minimise the technical pieces as far as possible, keeping the pylon free of clutter and presenting a clean, crisp silhouette on the hillside.

Of the 23 entries from nine European countries, five were shortlisted to develop architectural designs for all three stations and five supports. The international jury subsequently awarded our team first prize for the competition in May 2022.

An Environmental Impact Assessment is underway for each of the landing sites prior to the main design works commencing.