Experts: The palace can be rebuilt, but it will no longer be authentic

Prague - Speculating on how to repair the Industrial Palace, which was affected by a huge fire last night, is premature according to experts. There is documentation of the original building, and it can be reconstructed using the technology of the time as well as contemporary methods. However, the monument will, in any case, lose what it was primarily valued for - its authenticity.
According to Lukáš Beran from the Research Center for Industrial Heritage, it would be interesting to attempt to recreate the western wing of the building using the original technology. "However, now it is necessary to secure the preserved masonry parts and start a professional discussion, which will have time even after the elections," he told ČTK.
"It is possible to complete it, but it certainly would not be done in the original way, even though there is documentation and we can do it today," said statics expert Václav Jandáček to ČTK. "The problem is that it is not contemporary. It is more likely that a symbolic reconstruction of that wing will be made, and it is also necessary to decide how far to go in the reconstruction from the 1950s," he added. Between 1952 and 1954, the palace was provided with new vaults and an entrance extension to host communist party congresses. The palace was then renamed the Congress Palace, and a red star appeared on its tower.
Also according to Jandáček, it is important to preserve the overall mass of the palace and the window solutions. A much bigger problem, he says, is whether the central part, which supports the tower, is damaged. "If so, then that is bad, and it will probably be pressured to have it demolished," said the statics expert. He suggested that the space could be a lucrative construction site. "It is hard to speculate whether it was meant to burn down completely, or if it was just a warning. But I do not think it was intended to demolish the Industrial Palace," he stated.
The city statics expert already confirmed today that the central and eastern parts of the palace, according to initial findings, were not damaged by the fire, and there will be no obstruction to restoration from this side. According to Prague officials, the tragic fire is even an opportunity for "rehabilitation" of the palace. Architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš told journalists that the appearance of the monument after reconstruction could even better document its original look. He estimates the time for completion and repairs to be two to three years.
The Prague mayor says he wants to complete or reconstruct the palace. The city wants to pay for the restoration from the insurance that Incheba took out as the tenant of the entire Exhibition Ground. The conclusion of the insurance policy was a condition of the lease agreement with the city.
The Industrial Palace is listed as a cultural monument as part of the Exhibition Grounds, which have been protected as a heritage site since the 1950s. The authentic steel structure of the palace was especially valued, particularly visible on the tower, as in both side wings it was hidden under wooden ceilings.
The wood likely significantly aided the spread of the fire, in which the heat also altered the shape of the metal structures. Since Thursday, there has been speculation that the fire was intentionally set. "I privately believe that given today's fire protection systems and measures, such a fire is extremely suspicious," said Beran.
"The Industrial Palace is an irreplaceable symbol. The only comparable structure is the Petřín Tower, but only in its constructional aspect, not in its architectural solution. The palace represents an innovative synthesis of engineering construction and neo-Baroque architecture," Beran enumerated the values of the palace. According to Lukeš, the Industrial Palace has European significance, just as its unique iron structure was inspired among others by the Eiffel Tower.
Great fires in Prague seem to attract the Exhibition Grounds and its surroundings. In the 1960s, the nearby Trade Fair Palace burned, three years ago the Globe Theatre burned down right at the Exhibition Grounds, and in 1991, the Brussels Pavilion, where Czechoslovakia achieved success at Expo 58 and which was transported to Prague in 1959. "Its reconstruction has never occurred, although it might have been technically possible," believes Beran.