Since the year 930, a church dedicated to St. Vitus has stood on the site. That year, a modest romanesque rotunda was built to honour the saint — in light of the fact that the Duke of Bohemia had recently acquired the Christian martyr’s right hand as a holy artifact. Some hundred years later, the church was expanded into a larger romanesque basilica. Then, in 1344, construction began on the iconic gothic cathedral that still stands at the heart of the Prague Castle complex today, commanding a dramatic height peak of the city’s picturesque skyline.

The gothic peak of St. Vitus Cathedral remains one of Prague’s most iconic sights.

Set against the millennia of built and liturgical heritage, the neo-gothic “new provostry” building that was completed in 1877 is practically contemporary. As for the 2023 addition and renovation? Its positively futuristic. Yet, the modest intervention by local designers Studio acht feels surprisingly at home amidst the history. On a site that has served an architectural palimpsest for over a millennium, the introduction of a quiet new note brings the built dialogue into the 21st century.

Two new volumes bookend a centuries-old courtyard.

Primarily a renovation project, Studio acht was tasked with rehabilitating the long-vacant 1877 building, which was originally constructed to serve as the provost’s residence. Following WWII, however, the Communist government confiscated the facility, demolishing its outbuildings (a stable and coach house) and transforming the provostry and its courtyard into an army barracks. After the complex was restituted to the Catholic Church in 2016, the Archdiocese opted to transform the complex — already situated at the heart of a major tourist hub — into a publicly accessible space.

The designers started by carefully tracing history. Adapting the provostry building into a welcoming public facility — with space for retail, restaurants, and administrative offices — required a pair of small additions to enhance accessibility and increase floor area. Studio acht studied the footprints of the demolished stable and coach house, and inserted two new volumes (measuring 144 square metres in total) on their former sites. But while the additions restore an older geometry, their architecture is both contemporary and contextual.

In deference to their more ornate surroundings, the two volumes — which bookend the central courtyard — both feature a pared down expression, characterized by sleek envelopes of sandstone and glass. Yet, while the understated frontage and variegated stone surfaces draw a clear contrast to the surrounding architecture, the mirrored additions deftly pick up on the datum lines and window rhythms of their neighbours, while the sharply angled roofs are similarly of a piece with the Prague Castle complex.

Inside, the simple yet sumptuous finishes prioritize durable materials, including patinated copper details, as well as wood and tile floors, and steel-framed windows. Alongside the additions, the architects carefully restored 589 square metres of the existing provostry, meeting modern safety and accessibility standards while restoring heritage elements. Meanwhile, sleek contemporary lights introduce a note of the 21st century.

And although the barracks is gone, subtle elements of the 20th century and the Communist era still remain. Out in the courtyard, new paving stones mark the contours of military installations, adding another quiet layer to a thousand years — and then some — of stories.