There is a great interest in the competition for the Water House by the Želivka dam

The main element of the house will be a huge aquarium.

Hulice (Benešov region) - The Czech Union for Nature Conservation (ČSOP) Vlašim will build a visitor center called Water House near the Švihov water reservoir on the Želivka River. With its help, it will inform about the significance of the Želivka as the main drinking water source for Prague and the surrounding area as well as the inclusion of some natural sites in the vicinity of this dam into the European protected area network Natura 2000. Up to 30,000 people could visit it annually, said Karel Kříž from ČSOP Vlašim to ČTK.
  The sanitary protection zones around the dam and its inclusion in Natura 2000 bring many restrictions for the local residents and visitors, and many of them perceive it negatively, he stated. Therefore, it must be explained to them in a suitable and pleasant way why it is important to protect the cleanliness of water and nature and what this protection and care for the area looks like. Similar visitor centers operate around the world, according to Kříž.
  The ČSOP has announced an architectural competition for the Water House, which will take place in the first half of January. Almost 90 architectural firms have already picked up the materials, according to Kříž. They should be able to address, among other things, the requirement that the main building element of the low-energy and ecological house be a huge aquarium. The entire complex is to be built on about a hectare of land about 200 meters from the dam and will also have an outdoor exhibition.
  The project is being prepared by ČSOP in cooperation with Veolia and the Vltava River Basin Company. The estimated costs are 60 million Czech crowns, and the investor will apply for a grant from the Regional Operational Program Environment. "If we succeed in selecting the architectural design by mid-January, we would submit the grant application by the end of 2010. Construction could then begin at the end of 2011, and it should be completed within a year," Kříž added.
  The Želivka waterworks is, with a volume of 267 million cubic meters and the amount of water extracted, the largest water reservoir in Central Europe. The area around the dam is also of natural interest, as it has been largely inaccessible for a long time. It consists, among other things, of a wide belt of forest that was meant to prevent soil erosion on the banks of the reservoir, whose construction had to make way for a small town and several villages. Many of the original inhabitants who were displaced still perceive it as injustice. According to Kříž, the Water House will also remind visitors of this part of history.