The UOHS canceled the architectural competition of the National Museum

Brno - The Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) has canceled the architectural competition for the design of exhibitions and exhibition spaces in the historical and new building of the National Museum, which is currently undergoing repairs. The museum proceeded in a non-transparent manner when announcing the competition. The decision is final, and the museum did not appeal against it, as reported by ČTK from the ÚOHS website.

According to ÚOHS, the errors had an impact on the selection of the most suitable bid. The competition conditions allowed for a competition proposal that did not meet the mandatory conditions of the tender to not be excluded from the competition. Given that there were errors from the very beginning of the competition, ÚOHS found that it was not possible to proceed differently than to cancel the competition that was announced two years ago.

All exhibitions of the National Museum in Prague will open after a major reconstruction by mid-2020. For the 100th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia next October, construction will be completed, and a large Czech-Slovak exhibition will open in the historical building. By mid-2019, the natural history exhibitions will be accessible to the public, and a year later, the historical exhibitions in the New Building will be available.

After the opening, 90 percent of the space in the historical building will be accessible. The museum will gain a new space for large exhibits by covering both courtyards. This will also create a place for a café, concerts, and social events. The dome of the building will be opened with a view of the entire Prague. The concept of the historical-natural history museum will connect both buildings, and the museum will have several visitor routes. So far, a tunnel is being constructed for the reconstruction to connect to the New Building of the museum, the former Federal Assembly building. According to available information, the repairs will cost 1.6 billion crowns.