The representatives of Ostrava approved the conditions for the competition to repair the slaughterhouse

Ostrava - The city councilors of Ostrava agreed at their meeting today on the conditions for announcing an architectural competition for the reconstruction of the historical building of the former slaughterhouse. The city purchased it last year for 80 million, along with the former Bauhaus DIY store, and decided to announce a so-called invited competition. In this, architectural firms, including architects from Slovakia, Poland, Austria, and the Netherlands, will be directly approached. Five additional interested parties will be added to the directly invited firms in the first round based on a selection from the proposals received.

"The city respects the opinion that significant public buildings should be tested in some form of competition and, of course, in the case of such a project, definitely in the form of an architectural competition," said Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO).

He added that the goal of the city is to restore the slaughterhouse as much as possible to its original form and simultaneously adapt the building along with its surroundings for cultural purposes, especially for visual arts. "We are therefore reaching out to our and European architectural firms that have experience with similar projects," said Macura.

The competition will be two-stage. In the first round, ten proposals should be evaluated, five from the directly contacted studios and five that will be added from other submitted proposals. The city expects to evaluate the first round at the turn of April and May. "From these ten proposals, we would select two, three, possibly four, which would advance to the second round," Macura stated.

The winner of the competition is expected to be known in June. Subsequently, a public contract will be assigned to them for the preparation of complete project documentation. The proposals from the architects will be evaluated not only by representatives of the city but also by architects. The realization price of the competition proposal is limited to 150 million crowns excluding VAT.

The building of the city slaughterhouse in the center of the city was established in 1881. In 1994, however, the city district of Moravská Ostrava and Přívoz sold the two-hectare land along with the slaughterhouse building to the Bauhaus company for more than 38 million crowns. The company built its DIY store in close proximity to the slaughterhouse.

However, the slaughterhouse fell into disrepair and was never repaired, and the store later also ceased operations. The city has been trying for a long time to reclaim the listed slaughterhouse. According to the latest expert opinion, the value of the site exceeds 90 million crowns.

The councilors approved the conditions of the competition today, and the city council will decide on the date of its announcement after receiving confirmation of the competition's legitimacy from the Czech Chamber of Architects.