The ministry has initiated proceedings for the declaration of the New Stage as a monument

Prague – The Ministry of Culture has initiated proceedings to declare the building of New Stage a cultural monument. Iva Awwadová from the ministry's press department stated this in response to a query from ČTK. The proposal to declare the theater building from the 1970s and 1980s had been pending at the ministry for several years. The National Theatre is preparing the reconstruction of the New Stage and other adjoining buildings from the same period. The Institute of Theory and History of Architecture at the Czech Technical University has completed their construction-historical survey. Experts found a high degree of preservation of authentic elements of the buildings.

The Czech Technical University announced this today in a press release. The survey was conducted for the general designer of the reconstruction, which is the Society for the New Stage, composed of Rada Architekti and Archteam companies. The reconstruction of the New Stage is expected to cost about 700 million crowns. The New Stage is one of the most discussed buildings in Prague due to its exterior. The National Theatre plans to also renovate the adjacent building previously known as Themos, which will include rehearsal and educational activity spaces.

The spokesperson for the National Theatre, Tomáš Staněk, told ČTK today that the architectural studio is preparing the project documentation for the reconstruction of the New Stage, and in February the theatre intends to apply for a building permit. "Based on the executive project documentation, a tender for the general contractor for the reconstruction will be announced at the end of 2021," he stated. According to him, construction could ideally begin in mid-2022.

"We were surprised by the authenticity of the New Stage building, not only in the public areas but especially in the theatre’s backstage on the second floor, which contrasted with the state of the interiors of the restaurant building, which bear the marks of the ruthless approach of the previous owner," said Miroslav Pavel from the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University.

The design teams of Karel Prager and Pavel Kupka conceived all the buildings in the National Theatre's expansion area as interconnected spaces linked to the exteriors and the city. "We were equally struck by the absolutely extraordinary quality of details, craftsmanship, and small architectural elements of the interior," stated Petr Vorlík from the same department.

It was Vorlík along with his colleague Klára Brůhová who submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture two years ago to declare several buildings from the second half of the 20th century as cultural monuments. They criticized that the ministry had not initiated any new proceedings regarding post-war buildings for several years, with the exception of buildings that were immediately threatened with demolition. The ministry has long stated that proceedings concerning buildings from recent times are complicated and that even the professional public is not uniform in its opinions regarding their potential protection.

Post-war cultural monuments have included the Máj and Kotva department stores, the former Federal Assembly, the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, the Expo Pavilion, and the International Hotel. The buildings waiting for proceedings at the ministry include the Strojimport, Centrotex, crematorium in Motol, student dormitories in Podolí, and the Větrník. Last year, the ministry declared the CTU dormitories in Podolí a monument, which are considered examples of the Sorela style and were built in 1953. The preservation of the Prague Planetarium, the swimming complex in Podolí, and the Prague Intercontinental Hotel is currently being assessed.