České Budějovice will remodel KD Slavie according to the project by Chaix & Morel et Associés

České Budějovice - České Budějovice will renovate the Slavie cultural house according to the design of French architects from the Chaix & Morel et Associés studio. The costs will be 508 million crowns, and work is expected to start in 2022. The historic building will gain a modern extension. The house will be 6.5 meters longer, with new foyer areas, staircases, and elevators. The design work will cost 36.2 million CZK. This was announced today by representatives of the city hall and the architects.

In the extension, there will be a main hall, rotated 90 degrees from its current position and larger. There will also be a small hall with a café in the extension. According to the architects, the original main hall is acoustically unsuitable.

"The building will expand towards the city to bring it to life as much as possible. The main motive was to open the ground floor so that the building can truly live. We want to connect the ground floor as much as possible to the park and revitalize it," said architect Jan Proksa. The new multifunctional hall will accommodate 350 seated spectators, and up to 600 standing for rock concerts. The hall can host up to 60 performers, including a philharmonic.

The architects will maintain the historic face of Slavie with the main entrance facing the Malše River. The extension will face towards the city center. The summer stage will also be expanded, and access to the river will be created. The dominant feature of the building is the large hall on the first floor.

The Chaix & Morel et Associés studio is based in Paris and was established in 1983, employing around 40 people. It won among six finalists in the so-called competitive dialogue in which the city sought the best project. "Finalists who presented their designs to the jury will receive a so-called sketch fee, each 460,000 crowns," said Deputy Mayor Juraj Thoma (OPB).

Construction work could start in the second half of 2022. The city hall aims to obtain up to 55 percent of eligible costs from the EU. The city then wants to operate Slavie either as a contributory organization or a registered institute.

Originally a German House, it was built between 1871 and 1872. It was designed as a cultural, social, and political center for the Germans of České Budějovice. Under Hitler, it became a center of German Hitlerite nationalism, later housing the regional secretariat of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and then it was handed over to the city, later serving the army. In 1962, it was transferred back to the city by the state.