The Kotva department store has become a monument, the proceedings are still ongoing

According to the spokesperson, the ministry rejects the claims of two experts from the Institute of Theory and History of Architecture at CTU, who say that the office does not pay sufficient attention to post-war architecture and does not initiate proceedings to declare these buildings as cultural monuments. "The department of monument care of the Ministry of Culture does not overlook buildings from the second half of the 20th century - however, it cannot prefer them at the expense of other proposals for declaring objects from different periods. Cultural heritage includes all historical periods, not just post-war architecture," she added. According to her, the department of monument care is currently dealing with the proceedings to declare two more post-war buildings in Prague - the crematorium in Motol and the student dormitories in Podolí.

Klára Brůhová and Petr Vorlík from CTU recently submitted a proposal to declare several buildings from the second half of the 20th century as cultural monuments. Among them are the building of the former International Union of Students on Pařížská Street and several houses created during the completion of the National Theatre, including the New Stage. They also stated that the Ministry of Culture has not initiated nearly any new proceedings for several years, despite numerous proposals having been submitted. According to them, the only exception is the objects that are immediately threatened with demolition.

The ministry previously stated that proceedings regarding buildings from recent times are complicated and that even the professional community is not unified in its opinions on their potential protection. The proceedings to declare Kotva as a monument, for example, began as early as the end of 2016.

Not only experts from CTU criticize the Ministry of Culture for not deciding systematically and for still paying little attention to post-war architecture, and that it may also be subject to pressures from developers and concerns about their potential lawsuits due to hindrance of investments.

Kotva was built between 1970 and 1975 and, upon its opening, was one of the largest department stores in Europe. It is considered one of the most interesting Czechoslovak buildings from the 1970s. Its floor plan resembles a beehive and consists of several interlocking hexagons. The building was designed by spouses Věra and Vladimír Machonin.

Among comparable buildings, the department store Máj in Prague has been declared a monument. The department store Ještěd in Liberec, from the same architectural studio SIAL, did not receive state protection and was demolished for a new construction. The group of buildings Transgas on Vinohradská Street in Prague is also apparently facing demolition, to which the ministry did not grant monument protection.