Announced competition for the library: registration of participants until June 30

Prague - By 2010, a new building for the National Library is expected to rise in Prague at the western edge of Letná Plain, costing two billion crowns—a modern cultural center with a range of services for the public and a space for the preservation of the national conservation fund. The institution today announced an international design competition for architects and architectural teams for its construction. Participants must register by June 30, and the results will be known next spring.
According to the director of the National Library, Vlastimil Ježek, the competition is open, anonymous, and without restrictions—the only requirement for entry into the first round is authorization in the field. He stated that the condition that only creators who have previously completed buildings for cultural purposes worth at least 20 million euros—over half a billion crowns—can submit proposals was ultimately removed.
"The competition is a challenge for world architects. The minimum number of submissions we can expect is 300," Ježek declared today.
The first round will close on September 29, and the jury will evaluate the proposals on October 26; according to information from today's press conference, the eight best proposals are expected to advance to the second round, which will be held in accordance with the rules of the International Union of Architects (UIA) for the very first time in the Czech Republic.
The results of the competition are expected to be announced on March 3, 2007, after which all proposals will be presented to the public from March 24 to April 29. Organizers estimate the costs of the competition at 26.5 million crowns, of which 600,000 euros, around 18 million crowns, is earmarked for prizes for the competitors.
According to him, the new building will have 1,200 study places and space for the storage of 10 million library units; the reserve for storing additional acquisitions could be up to fifty years. For collections, specifically those newer from after 1800, there will be 20,000 square meters of space available.
Older collections, as well as music, are to remain at Klementinum. The library also has around three million units in the new depository in Hostivař.
It is expected that the new building will have extensive "non-library" zones for social and cultural purposes, including dining options, exhibitions, or meeting spaces. The library’s own operations will be divided into a zone for basic services for all, study zones with free selection, subject-specific and specialized study rooms, and a zone with the strictest regime—where national conservation collections that are usually inaccessible will be stored.
Architects have the task of comprehensively addressing the relationship between the new building and the planned exit from the underground part of the road circuit. The creation of a public space that could also serve as a reserve for a potential expansion of the library, likely no earlier than the second half of the 21st century, is not excluded.
Ježek said they would draw attention to the competition by the world-renowned architect of Czech descent, Jan Kaplický. "We will be pleased if he competes," he noted. However, he added that the jury is selected to decide impartially, not to ensure Kaplický's victory.
"Our building must utilize the southern neighborhood with the park; it must be permeable, both from the park's view of the building and into the building, and from the building's perspective looking out," Ježek told ČTK, pointing to other modern library buildings worldwide.
He stated that he does not know from what material the construction will be made or what it will look like—on the contrary, he is very much looking forward to the architects' proposals. There are basically no height or other restrictions for the future building, as the plot covers an area of 12,000 square meters. The library will pay the city 31.5 million crowns for the land.
"It definitely has to be a solitary, interesting building... But above all, it has to be a library," the director emphasized. Specifically, the "library" assignment highlights certain connections or functions of individual library operations. "We can't build a beautiful building and then conclude that the only thing we can't operate there is the National Library...," Ježek joked.