Ostrava announced an architectural competition for the construction of a concert hall

Ostrava - The Ostrava City Hall today announced an architectural competition for the construction of a concert hall. City representatives have already approached three world-renowned studios, while other architects with sufficient experience can apply for the competition. The winner will be announced in June 2019. The project, costing 1.5 billion CZK excluding VAT, is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. This was stated to journalists today by Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO). In the last two years, this is the fifth architectural competition announced by the city.

The concert hall is to be located next to the Ostrava House of Culture. According to the mayor, the brief considers not only the new hall but also its connection with the current cultural house and the reconstruction of the cultural house. The planned budget does not include an underground parking garage for at least 350 cars, which may cost an additional 200 million CZK.

City representatives contacted three world-renowned studios that have already confirmed their participation in the competition. Proposals for a hall with a capacity of 1,100 to 1,300 seats will be submitted by the team of American architect Steven Holl, the Polish Konior Studio, which designed a concert hall in Katowice, and the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects. The Danish competitor proposed a headquarters for the Philharmonic with a concert hall in Reykjavik. This trio will be joined by three other interested parties in the competition. The jury will select them based on the submitted portfolios. A condition will be that they already have experience with a similar construction. Architects will have to submit their first proposals by February 1, 2019. In the second phase of the competition, the jury will select proposals that will be further developed in detail.

"Both the approached studios and the jury itself are world leaders in this field. I am very pleased that we have managed to secure such a strong lineup for the competition," said the mayor. Independent jury members will include Israeli architect Rafi Segal and Irish architect Valerie Mulvin.

In 2017, the city established a special fund where it allocates money for the construction of the hall. It is expected that the construction will cost the city 600 million CZK. The Ministry of Culture has pledged the same amount. The Moravian-Silesian Region is to contribute 300 million CZK.