Herman initiated a review of the decision regarding Transgas, it cannot be demolished

Prague - Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) has initiated a process to re-examine the potential heritage protection of the complex of buildings Transgas in Prague 2. Last December, the ministerial heritage officials rejected declaring the 1970s buildings as heritage status, which some experts protested against. The owner of the buildings plans to demolish them and construct other structures in their place. However, during the review period, they cannot proceed with this, as the buildings have provisional heritage protection, said ministry spokeswoman Simona Cigánková today.

The review process began on May 4, and according to her, its outcome could be known in the fall. "Throughout this review process, the buildings enjoy provisional heritage protection, and thus they cannot only be demolished, but also cannot be modified in any way, such as dismantling interiors," she stated. The owner of the buildings plans to demolish them and construct other structures in their place. However, during the review, they cannot proceed with this, as the buildings have provisional heritage protection, said ministry spokeswoman Simona Cigánková today. The investor understands the review as merely a check for any procedural errors. If it were otherwise, they are prepared to defend themselves in court, said Jakub Verner on behalf of the investor, HB Reavis.

The review process began on May 4, and according to Cigánková, its outcome could be known in the fall. "Throughout this review process, the buildings enjoy provisional heritage protection, and thus they cannot only be demolished, but also cannot be modified in any way, such as dismantling interiors," she stated.

According to Verner, the current appeal under existing legislation does not serve to review whether Transgas is or is not a cultural monument. "It is solely intended to check the process of the previous decision-making, i.e., whether the Ministry of Culture acted in accordance with the laws. We firmly believe that it did," he believes. If not, the company wants to actively defend itself, including claims for damages at the Arbitration Court of the Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm. "This amount is already around 22 million euros (approximately 585 million crowns). However, we hope that we can rely on the certainties of the rule of law and that nothing like this will happen," added Verner.

The Ministry of Culture considered the proposal to declare the buildings as a heritage site at the request of the Club for Old Prague. The National Heritage Institute did not recommend the declaration, stating that "the concerned complex does not create a city-forming environment and damages the environment of the urban heritage zone in terms of both mass and scale." However, the ministerial committee still began to address the proposal but ultimately did not declare the buildings as heritage.

"The requests to initiate the review process indicate that there are serious doubts as to whether the reviewed decision contains sufficient reasons supporting that the object in question does not meet the legal conditions for designation as a cultural monument," the spokeswoman stated. The decision made by the ministry last December did not convincingly refute the arguments contained in the requests for declaring this object as a cultural monument, according to Herman.

The authors of the petition assess the buildings as an outstanding example of stylistically synthetic architecture from the 1970s, combining elements of brutalism, technicism, and postmodernism, and also as a unique realization of postmodern urbanism in Czech territory. According to Herman, the review should determine whether the owner's rights prevail over the public interest in the protection of cultural heritage.

The complex of the former Central Gas Dispatch Transgas and the Ministry of Fuel and Energy stands beneath the building of Czechoslovak Radio and is the work of the team Jindřich Malátek, Ivo Loos, Zdeněk Eisenreich, and Václav Aulický.

Participants in the proceedings can express their opinions on the review within two months. The minister is expected to issue a new decision in the fall, which will either suspend the review process, thus maintaining the original decision of the Ministry of Culture not to declare it a cultural monument, or annul the original decision and return the matter to the ministry for further proceedings, the spokeswoman stated.