<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Translation</title> </head> <body> <p>A classical house in Prague 1 wants to be converted into a hotel by a company.</p> </body> </html>

Source
Tereza Měrtlová

Publisher
ČTK
05.08.2008 13:50

Prague - The late classical house in Petrská Street in the heart of Prague is reportedly set to be converted into a hotel by a construction company. According to the Club for Old Prague, the planned reconstruction is demolition-oriented and inappropriately brutal. The architectural firm that designed the solution for the building defends itself by stating that the house is not a cultural monument and that the renovation is necessary because the building is in poor condition. The decision regarding the modifications of the house, which is considered by the club to be one of the rare remnants of the original mill quarter, will be made by municipal preservationists.
"A hotel is being planned there," said Kateřina Bečková, the chairwoman of the club, today to ČTK. According to the club, only the exterior walls onto Petrská, and partially onto Půtova and Stárkovy streets, are to be retained from the original above-ground structure. "This is far from the first case in Prague where an investor treats a historic, monumentally unprotected building almost as if it were an open construction site," stated the club in a press release. For this reason, buildings from the first and second thirds of the 19th century are the most endangered, including the structure with the green facade on Petrská. The building is part of the Prague Heritage Reserve, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The reconstruction is defended by architect Petr Malínský from the DaM studio, who designed the conversion. According to him, the building is in very poor condition regarding its statics. This was proven, according to the architect, by a conducted survey. "Not everything can be declared a monument," Malínský, who is the chairman of the advisory body of the director of the municipal preservationists, Jan Kněžínka, told ČTK today.
The decision on the reconstruction will be made by Kněžínka's department. However, according to Kněžínka, this is not a conflict of interest, as in similar cases, a member of the board does not vote, he explained to ČTK today. "The administrative procedure has not yet been completed, so it is not possible to speak about a final decision for the department," said Ivana Síbrtová from the preservation department to ČTK today. The department will decide based on the static assessment of the object, structural-historical investigation, inventory of elements in the object, and the opinion of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ).
According to the club, however, the NPÚ "has undergone a shocking change of opinion." Initially, the project was excluded, then the director of the institute, Michael Zachař, changed the verdict to feasible, stated the club. The association also criticizes that the static assessment was prepared on the investor's order and costs, so it cannot be considered the only argument for demolishing the monument.
The City Hall of Prague 1 cannot, according to spokesperson Alexander Koráb, do anything regarding the decision on the reconstruction. However, even the actions of the City Hall demonstrate the poor condition of the house. "We urged the owner to secure the property, and he did so," stated Koráb. According to the club, however, the condition is not such that it would justify demolition intervention.
The original development of the mill quarter disappeared in connection with the regulation of the Vltava riverbank and its surroundings in the 1920s. The object on Petrská was created by merging two construction units. The facade building onto Petrská Street in the form of a late classical residential building was created in the second third of the 19th century. According to the club, it undoubtedly bears traces of older construction phases in its core.

> Position of the Club for Old Prague regarding the intention of the demolition reconstruction of building No. 1166-II in Petrská Street

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pročpak se pan architekt Petr Malínský nepochlubí co vytvoři

Václav Průcha

05.08.08 08:32

exemplární příklad

Vích

05.08.08 09:19

tomas