<div>Chamber does not agree with the promotion of the concert hall at Štvanice</div>

Prague - The Czech Chamber of Architects disagrees with the fact that at a time when an architectural competition for the revitalization of Štvanice island is announced, the city hall speaks of Štvanice as an ideal place for the construction of a new concert hall. "This information could influence the jury's decision-making and favor those designs that placed the concert hall on the island, even though this condition was not stated in the competition conditions," states a letter that the chamber sent to the Prague mayor today.
    The need for a new concert hall has been considered for a long time, and for the last three years, a working team led by the mayor has been meeting. In its current composition, at the end of March, it stated that Štvanice is the most suitable location for the hall. The Chamber is not pleased that such a statement came from the city hall, which previously announced a competition for the entire Štvanice. According to the architects, participants in the competition might raise the objection that the competition conditions were changed just before the end of the competition.
    "The press release from the association was published not with the intention of influencing the competition for Štvanice, but with the aim of informing the public about the activities of the coordination committee for the new concert hall," stated Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) to ČTK. According to him, Štvanice has been on the shortlist of considered locations since April 2012, that is, before the competition was announced. A final decision on the location for the concert hall has not yet been made, he added.
    The alleged favoritism towards Štvanice is also disliked by architect Ondřej Císler, who has long been dealing with the question of the concert hall's location in Prague and even devoted his doctoral thesis to it. According to him, the debate on this topic is based not on seriously substantiated studies, but rather on estimates and personal preferences of the commission members. He believes Štvanice is problematic in that it is not and will never be conveniently accessible for pedestrians and is not part of the city center. It lacks a connection to existing music institutions, and he also views it as contentious that a concert hall would deny the deeply ingrained sports and recreational function of the island.
    Eighty designs were submitted for the competition announced by the city; in the first round, participants had to submit conceptual designs. The authors of the most successful designs were invited by the jury to submit developed projects. The winner, chosen by the commission at the beginning of May, will prepare the project documentation for 35 million crowns. Prague wants the island to be a place for sports activities, relaxation, and cultural events. The first stage of the island's revitalization is expected to cost up to half a billion crowns.
    Most contracts for architectural projects in Prague are resolved through commercial competitions, where the lowest price plays the most significant role. Architects consistently criticize this approach. They want the city to place greater emphasis on holding conceptual competitions. The Chamber of Architects has so far praised the Štvanice competition as a good example of an approach to solving public space issues.
    However, the stance of the Association for the Construction of a New Concert Hall in Prague is criticized. It demands from the city leadership to state that "the architectural competition for Štvanice is paramount to the statements and recommendations of the Association for the Construction of a New Concert Hall" and that considerations of the potential location for the hall will take place in a professional and transparent debate only after its conclusion. The mayor told ČTK that he considers the superiority of the competition over any statements regarding the considered locations for the new concert hall to be self-evident.