Architect criticizes Olomouc city hall for square lighting

HŠH Architekti, Modifications to Horní náměstí in Olomouc, competition 1995, implementation 1998 - 2001, photo by Ester Havlová

Olomouc - Prague architect Jan Šépka, who participated in the project to reconstruct Horní náměstí in Olomouc in the 1990s, criticized the city council for its plan to install new Philips Urbanstar lamps in the historic center of the city. He compared the approach of the councilors regarding the planned lighting modifications for Horní náměstí to the practices used by communist officials before 1989. The city council left the architect Šépka's statement without comment.
    "The actions of the Olomouc city council, led by the mayor, send us a message with their authoritative approach that it is still possible today to revert to practices used 25 years ago during the socialist era. The new mayor Martin Major is convinced that as a politician and representative of the city administration, he can decide on the appearance of the street lighting in Horní náměstí and assume the role of an expert appointed for that purpose," Šépka told ČTK.
    The debate on how best to illuminate Horní náměstí, which is home to the city hall, has been ongoing in Olomouc for several months. After the reconstruction of Horní náměstí was completed in 2001, it was discovered that the existing Thorn lamps offered insufficient light. Therefore, the city council now proposed the installation of Philips Urbanstar lamps, which have been illuminating the neighboring Dolní náměstí since last year. However, this is not favored by heritage conservationists or the authors of the Horní náměstí reconstruction, who advocate for the original lamps proposed in the project for the city center's renovation, instead of the Thorn columns that were ultimately installed.
    The architect claims that the mayor is advocating for Philips lamps despite protests from the authors of the modifications to Horní náměstí, who fear damage to their work, as well as negative positions from conservationists and experts. "We are coming to a situation where politicians start advising us on how to proceed regardless of experts. Today, the mayor determines the shape of the lights for us; tomorrow he might advise doctors on how to operate and journalists on how to write," Šépka pointed out.
    According to him, acquiring Philips lamps will not be inexpensive, but the lighting conditions at Horní náměstí will not improve significantly. "Municipal elections are approaching. For us, such conduct may be a challenge to consider whether we want to return to practices we encountered before 1989, or whether we will choose different politicians and a mayor who will act within the framework of general rules and be ready to discuss matters," the architect wrote.
    Last week, city councilors conducted a brightness test of Philips and Thorn lamps at Horní náměstí, and they expect to have the results in the coming days. The city council plans to replace 34 Thorn lamps with Philips, and if the brightness test does not yield positive results, they have a backup option to increase the number of Thorn lamps by another four. "The city council will discuss the next steps at a meeting on Monday, April 7th. Until then, the city administration does not consider it necessary or appropriate to respond to any public statements, no matter how arrogant or emotionally charged they are," said city council spokesperson Michal Folta to ČTK.
    The acquisition of Thorn lamps 13 years ago cost nine million crowns. Their trial operation began in March 2001, and the weak light at the square then rendered the security cameras of the guards inoperable. The city council had to purchase new ones.