Hruša's sgraffito on the House of Art will not be

Brno - The Brno city council decided today that the planned sgraffito will not be placed on the northern facade of the main building of the House of Art in Brno, which some architects and experts have criticized. Architect Petr Hrůša, who is the author of the extensive reconstruction project of the building, proposed to decorate the plaster with painting. Hrůša disagrees with the council's decision, considering it a significant interference with his work.
    "For the council, it was decisive that some architects, experts, and the city's advisory body for culture expressed their opposition to the sgraffito," said Pavel Žára, spokesperson for the city council, to ČTK. The sgraffito was also disliked by the director of the House of Art in Brno, Rostislav Koryčánek. He believed that the style did not fit the institution whose main purpose is to exhibit contemporary art.
    The renovation of the building at Malinovského náměstí began more than a year ago and is slowly nearing completion. Contrary to initial expectations, the reconstruction has significantly increased in cost. Instead of 45 million crowns, it will demand around 60 million, city representatives reported some time ago.
    Sgraffito is the term for what is known as incised painting. It is a method of wall ornamentation and figurative decoration on the exterior of buildings. It is created by scratching through a moist top layer of white plaster down to the lower colored layer, usually black. Sgraffito was very popular, for example, during the Renaissance.
    The House of Art building at Malinovského náměstí was built in 1910 in the style of Vienna Secession according to the design of Heinrich Ried. Originally, it was named after Emperor Franz Joseph. It served as an exhibition hall for the German-speaking minority in Brno. After World War II, the city took over the building, and architect Bohuslav Fuchs remodeled it in the spirit of Brno functionalism. For many years, the building housed the Theater Na provázku, now known as Husa na provázku.