Historics: The plan to demolish the house in Wenceslas Square is barbaric

Prague - Historians labeled the intention to demolish the building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street in Prague as barbaric and reckless during today’s public hearing of the Senate’s cultural committee. The investor and conservationists from the Prague city hall defend the plan. According to them, the historic building should be replaced by quality architecture. Next to the Jalta Hotel, a commercial and administrative center worth a billion should rise. The Minister of Culture Jiří Besser enabled the demolition with his decision some time ago.
    "I consider the planned destruction of the building to be an unjustifiable act," stated the director of the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Lubomír Konečný. Historian Martin Mádl called the attempt to demolish the house "absolutely shocking, frustrating, and incomprehensible". The quality of architecture reportedly needs to be discussed and evaluated sensitively. "However, this cannot be achieved through recklessness and deliberate disregarding and withholding competent opinions of others," he added.
    Experts at today’s public hearing acknowledged the architectural and urbanistic value of the historic building, authored by the significant Czech architect Bohumír Kozák. According to experts, public protest is also considerable. More than 13,000 people have signed the petition against the demolition plan. "The building is architecturally significant and has its place in the history of Czech architecture," stated Kateřina Bečková from the Club for Old Prague.
    The city hall does not consider the building, which is part of Prague's heritage reserve, to be anything exceptional. Ivana Síbrtová from the heritage care department of the Prague city hall said that conservationists discussed the project and consulted with experts about it. They reportedly agreed that Prague's heritage reserve cannot be "conserved". Architect Petr Malinský, the chairman of the expert board for heritage issues at the Prague city hall, countered the protest of the civic associations. "This campaign has the features of a criminal act of incitement," he said, earning a burst of laughter from the audience. "I would like to urge that we should not be afraid of modern architecture," he added.
    "It's good to realize that while there are people who want to preserve the lively center of Prague and turn it into a kind of museum, more people actually want Prague to develop, both as a city and architecturally," argued James Woolf, chairman of the board of the investor company Flow East. According to him, the demolition of less significant buildings is an important part of the development of Prague's architecture. People, according to Woolf, must choose whether they will "drive a Trabant or choose a Rolls-Royce".
    The Minister of Culture previously decided to respect the recommendations of the departmental appeal committee, which proposed agreeing to the demolition of the corner building, the courtyard part of the hotel, and the ruins of the former Joint Stock Printing House, whose facade will remain preserved. The investor has not yet applied for a demolition permit. Once they do, the building office of Prague 1 will decide on the application. The council of the first municipal district has already approved the proposed size and height of the potential new building as well as its commercial and administrative use.
    According to the original plan, the building was to have nine above-ground floors; according to the latest plan, the investor is considering the construction of eight floors. According to the documentation, the last floor is to be nearly 32 meters high. The building will also have three underground floors. Two are planned for parking and one for shops. Sales places are also to be in the ground floor and the first two floors. The remainder of the building will be designated for offices.