Powder Gate (Prašná brána) restoration in Prague, Czech Republic

Project Overview: 

The Powder Gate, or Prašná brána in Czech, is an extraordinary Gothic tower in Prague and is one of the original 13 city gates that separate the Old Town from the New Town. Construction of the tower began in 1475 and in the 17th century it was even used to store gunpowder which earned it the ‘Dust Tower’ title. 
The tower, managed by Prague City Tourism, is undergoing exterior and railing renovations. Work started in summer 2024 and scaffolding covered the tower for most of the season, marking the first phase of an extensive renovation project. The outer structure will undergo thorough cleaning, basic treatment and an inspection of each of its components. This will lead to the repair, restoration and replacement of damaged sections including the stone railings on the tower’s gallery. 
HAKI Slovakia started working together with EKRO CZ to deliver the project for Prague City Tourism in March 2024 and provided a wide variety of Work Zone Safety solutions including Universal Scaffold, Catchfan Mini and Mobile Pedestrian Fences. Services offered by HAKI were also engaged such as technical drawings and on-site training.  

Technical drawings:

Scaffold engineering for the restoration works of such an iconic building came with its own challenges. The ornate façade contains numerous decorative symbolic statues and emblems representing various Bohemian rulers and territories which added a layer of complexity when building scaffold around it. For this reason, HAKI’s team of engineers designed 3D scaffold drawings and calculations that proved vital to ensure safety for all trades involved in the Powder Gate’s restoration.    
HAKI’s exemplary engineer drawing service identified risks at an early stage to avoid potential issues, adapting systems to the specific requirements of this project. This enabled the continued use of the building while the restoration team had full access to the exterior of the tower to carry out their delicate tasks. HAKI was ahead from the start of the project, true to our commitment to guarantee safety while also saving on unexpected costs down the line. 

“From an engineering point of view the challenges started when we found out the weather conditions on site and what specific regulations are used in Prague. After that, work started on adapting the bay lengths so that the standards did not collide with the magnificent ornaments (light blue in the figure to the right below) and windows. Other demands from the customer were that traffic should be running through the gate during inspection time of the building. We were also not allowed to put any scaffolding on the bridge that connects the Powder Gate with another close building.” says Patrik Lennartsson, HAKI Project Engineer.

The solution here was to provide the scaffold with bridging beams. The span of the beams was  approximately 6 and 12 m. To optimise the beams and the scaffold, a 3D calculation model was made, this ensured that the constructions integrated with each other.
 

On-site training:

Training for the Powder Gate project in Prague began several weeks before scaffolding erection and was held at EKRO's facility outside the city. Here, Lester Brown, HAKI Instructor, was introduced to the skilled team responsible for the build in the bustling city centre and initial training focused on pre-building a section of the design. A few weeks later the team were fully prepared to start setting up the tower. This phase proved challenging, as we had to navigate a highly trafficked area filled with pedestrians and tourists capturing photos of the structure. Fortunately, the team were excellent experienced scaffolders, whose skills made the process much easier. 
 

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the entire HAKI and EKRO teams—it was a pleasure working together.” – Lester Brown, HAKI Instructor

Product solutions:

Universal Scaffolding 

HAKI provided a wide range of safety solutions to this project, including HAKI Universal System Scaffolding, which surrounded all four sides of the tower. The scaffolding included a tripod setup that extended up to 18 meters around entrances, allowing safe access without obstructing key entry points for traffic. The scaffold had a width of 1.25 meters, providing ample workspace and used a hybrid solution combining steel decking and composite decking with hatch doors for functionality and ease of access. Lightweight aluminium toe boards were selected on-site for faster application and reduced weight, facilitating quick adjustments as the project progressed.

Protecting city heritage

When erecting the scaffold there were many factors to consider with the most important being preservation of Prague city heritage. To achieve this all anchoring was done exclusively between the bricks on the tower, rather than into the bricks themselves. Additionally, a wide variety of consoles were also used to build around statues on the tower, ensuring that these historic elements were protected. Lastly, the scaffold design was also adapted to accommodate the angled construction of the tower, ensuring stability and safety while respecting the tower’s unique architecture.

This careful approach underscores the commitment to preserving Prague’s architectural heritage with minimal disruption to the structure itself and to the ongoing tourism activity within the tower. 

Catchfan Mini – Debris Nets 

As the Powder Gate is located in central Prague, HAKI Catchfan Mini units were installed using scaffold fixings around the perimeter to capture any fallen debris, ensuring that traffic flow into the city centre remained unaffected. These Catchfan Mini units provided up to 40 meters of coverage, effectively safeguarding the area below while preserving normal access to the site. By employing this solution, the gateways of the tower could stay open, allowing vehicles to pass safely through as usual. This setup balanced safety with functionality, maintaining accessibility without compromising the protection of both workers and visitors.

Pedestrian fencing 

Mobile fences were also installed at ground level to create a secure perimeter around the tower, offering multiple benefits, including an expanded safe zone for pedestrians, enhanced safety for workers and a designated storage area for unused equipment. The fencing included standard 3.5m x 2m barriers for effectively zoning off the site and materials, as well as smaller 2.5m x 1.15m barriers to guide pedestrian traffic safely around the area. With a modular design, these fences could be set up and removed quickly, allowing for efficient site management. Constructed from durable materials, they were built to withstand harsh conditions and frequent relocation, supporting both functionality and safety throughout the project.