NK wants Klementinum without cars, plans for underground garages

Prague - Cars should disappear from the baroque Klementinum area, the director of the National Library (NK), Tomáš Böhm, plans to build an entrance from Platnéřská Street to an underground parking garage with a capacity of 20 cars and a loading area for supplies. This would calm the Klementinum area and open it up for various public events. Böhm said this to ČTK today. By the end of April, he wants to announce a public tender for the second phase of the Klementinum revitalization and a tender for the completion of the depot in Hostivař by mid-April.
    The entrance from Platnéřská was already included in the original plans for the revitalization of Klementinum, but the plan was criticized by heritage officials. According to Böhm, there should be no protests now because building the entrance will not require demolishing the portal or any other excessive interventions.
    A key role in planning the revitalization of Klementinum should be played by the renewed advisory group of architects and heritage officials, which was dissolved by previous director Pavel Hazuka. The advisory board is also assisting in the development of a new library development strategy up to 2016. Böhm wants to present the details at a press conference he plans for April 20, on the occasion of 100 days since he took office.
    "We will divide Klementinum into several sections based on how accessible they will be to the public; the goal is to have the most open library possible," Böhm stated. It is planned that the ground floor would be completely accessible without restrictions.
    NK would also like to take advantage of the space freed up by the National Technical Library, which moved to Dejvice. Concerts, exhibitions, and lectures are to be held there.
    The library has been criticized in the past for the expensive reconstruction of Klementinum. The renovation of the building along with the completion of the Hostivař depots was to cost around three billion crowns. NK's previous leadership was also criticized for the lack of transparency in library development strategies.
    Shortly after his arrival in office at the beginning of this year, Böhm canceled the tender for the completion of the Hostivař depot, considering it expensive. By mid-April, the National Library should announce a new tender, which is to be 120 million crowns cheaper than the previous one.
    A few years ago, the National Library announced an architectural competition for a new building to replace the inadequate spaces of the baroque Klementinum. In spring 2007, architect Jan Kaplický won with his futuristic project, but due to the resistance of some Prague politicians and President Václav Klaus, the plan was not implemented.
    Instead, the government decided on the revitalization of Klementinum and the completion of the depot in Hostivař. The current head Böhm is also not counting on the revival of the plan to construct a new library according to Kaplický's design.
    Böhm was appointed director of the library based on a competition by Minister Jiří Besser (for TOP 09). Previously, the institution was led by Pavel Hazuka, who was appointed in the autumn of 2008 by then-Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička (at that time KDU-ČSL) without a public tender. Jehlička replaced Hazuka's predecessor, Vlastimil Ježek, who advocated for Kaplický's project.