The main authors of the Palace of Culture do not like the idea of a library

Prague - The main team of four authors of the former Palace of Culture in Prague, now the Congress Center, does not like the idea of converting their work for the needs of the National Library (NK). They state that changing the function of the building would be very costly and that the idea's author, Milan Knížák, the director of the National Gallery in Prague, never consulted them about this concept. Additionally, one of the four architects has suggested that it would be better to place Kaplický's library project at the opposite end of the Letná plain - near the Ministry of the Interior.
    Knížák presented the idea of potentially using the Congress Center for the library a few weeks ago after more than a year had passed since the publication of the results of the international architectural competition for the design of the new NK building. The ongoing debates about the project's future have yet to conclude, and the library warns that it needs additional space. If it does not get it, there will allegedly be a spatial collapse in 2015.
    Several architects worked on the Palace of Culture, but the main authorial team consisted of Jaroslav Mayer, Vladimír Ustohal, Antonín Vaněk, and Josef Karlík. Other authors also contributed to the architectural and construction solutions, designing the interiors of the halls and other spaces. One of them, according to architect Ustohal, was Jaroslav Trávníček, who is very fond of the idea of converting the Congress Center and expected that others would feel the same.
    According to him, the reconstruction of the building associated with the change of function would not be overly expensive or technically challenging. However, the authoring team is against it, stating that Trávníček's opinions lack the necessary technical expertise. According to architect Ustohal, the Congress Center is a significant landmark for Prague, noting that there are not many other options in the city for events like International Monetary Fund meetings. The technical parameters of the largest hall are exceptional, and losing them would be unreasonable, Ustohal told ČTK.
    Regarding the discussions about the appropriateness of placing the new library building on the plot at the very end of the Letná plain, which seem less significant amid the current issues concerning funds for the library or the continuous postponement of the construction preparations, the architect has his own contribution. He proposes placing Kaplický's building at the opposite end of the plain - next to the Ministry of the Interior building.
    He argues that following the completion of large transportation projects, traffic in the intended building site will intensify, adversely affecting pedestrian and vehicular movement before the potential library. Moreover, the area planned for the library is surrounded by low villa construction, and Kaplický's project, with a height of 48 meters, would turn the villas for diplomats into "dollhouses".
    On the eastern side of the plain, the context for the library building would consist of taller buildings with similar content - nearby stand the National Technical Museum and the National Agricultural Museum. Ustohal builds on the idea of architecture historian Pavel Kalina from ČVUT, who suggests that it would be ideal to create a museum quarter on Letná plain, similar to what other European metropolises have. New museum buildings could emerge, and the space could become a "laboratory for contemporary architecture without the odor of snobbery and superficial design."
    Ustohal's vision also meets the demands of NK director Vlastimil Ježek for good transport accessibility, as it remains close to the metro. Additionally, from some perspectives, the building would free itself from the vicinity of Prague Castle, the architect points out, and the Eye over Prague would offer the same possibilities to observe the historical core of the city as the original plot.