Architekt: I never planned the house "Marshmallow" to be white-pink

Prague - According to the author of the controversial residential building design on U Milosrdných Street near the Agnes Monastery in the center of Prague, there was never a variant where his building would be in white and pink colors. Architect Zdeněk Fránek labeled the visualization in this color scheme as a forgery during today's discussion about the planned construction. According to him, the planned building will be brick at the top and beige at the bottom, with its separate masses resembling faces.
    People are referring to the building based on this allegedly forged visualization as "marshmallow." At an April demonstration against it, people came with boxes that looked like white, gray, and pink square faces. "When I saw the photo from the demonstration, how nice it was, I really started to think about making it pink and white," Fránek humorously concluded his presentation. Vítězslav Praks from the Civic Monitoring, who called for the protests, responded that the visualizations have been published in the materials from architect Fránek.
    "I repeatedly encounter visualizations that harm the builder," said Matěj Stopnický, the deputy mayor of Prague. According to him, within a year, an information center should be established at the Institute of Planning and Development in Emauzy, where investors should be required to publicize their visualizations and any architectural models.
    The original variant that emerged from the architectural competition in the 90s, which included several firms from the Czech Republic and abroad, was glass-covered, but that was not approved by the heritage preservation officials. People primarily object to the fact that it does not fit next to the 13th-century monastery, has too fragmented a facade, and resembles faces. Furthermore, the underground garage would affect the groundwater. The construction is also opposed by the current director of the National Gallery, which is located in the Agnes Monastery, Jiří Fajt, who will try to apply his remarks during the construction proceedings.
    According to Stropnický, there were two options for how the city could still intervene after the issuance of the zoning decision. "I asked the property department to check whether the current structure is the same building from an expert point of view as the one that won the architectural competition," Stropnický said today at the discussion. The city had indeed enforced the respect for the competition results through a contract with the investor regarding the sale of the land.
    "The opinion states that although the building looks different at first glance, it essentially remains the architecture that won the competition. Only the remarks of the heritage officials were incorporated," Stropnický added. Another option is the decision of the building authority regarding the building permit. Any possible appeal will be decided by the building department of the magistrate, which the city leadership as a local government cannot influence. The property department can also get involved as the landowner.
    The six-story building, which is to be constructed in the Prague heritage reserve, has provoked protests from hundreds of people in recent days. Among other reasons, the wall of the monastery would have to be taken down due to the construction. Supporters of the project claim that they want to enrich the city center with quality architecture.
    For the construction, which the investor has been negotiating for 17 years, the authorities recently issued a zoning decision. Last December, the developer requested a building permit. Opponents of the building refer to the negative opinion of the Ministry of Culture and the remarks of the National Heritage Institute. However, the project had received approval from the municipal heritage officials in the past.