The repair of Mánes is postponed, a sponsor is being sought

Prague - The renovation of the Prague Mánes building will be postponed by several weeks. The board of the Czech Visual Arts Foundation (NČVU), which owns the significant monument of Czech architecture, could not reach an agreement with sponsors. They were supposed to contribute 100 million crowns to the project. Therefore, they will reach out to other partners, NČVU’s chairman Martin Pavala said today to ČTK. The renovation was scheduled to begin in November, but will likely start at the turn of the year.
    The reconstruction is expected to close Mánes for up to two years, costing around 150 million crowns. The NČVU intended to secure a large portion of the funds from two sponsors, but negotiations were unsuccessful. "The demanded consideration was unacceptable for us," said Pavala. According to him, sponsors demanded changes in the board to oversee the investment. "Their involvement would mean its takeover," he noted.
    The foundation now wants to approach other potential sponsors with whom they did not negotiate due to the exclusivity of the previous agreement. They will pay part of the reconstruction from their own resources and plan to take a loan for part of it. However, the loan must not be too high, according to Pavala. "We have learned from the mistakes of our predecessors. They got into debt while constructing Mánes and were unable to repay it," he emphasized.
    They are also considering the possibility of obtaining funds from so-called Norwegian funds. However, this would mean the foundation would have to issue a public tender, delaying the start of construction.
    Due to the disagreement with sponsors, according to Pavala, the reconstruction could "theoretically" be split into several phases. For example, the modification of the facilities could be postponed. "It seems, however, that this will not be necessary," Pavala added. Mánes will definitely reopen to the public in 2013, according to him. The NČVU had planned to start repairs already in June 2010, but the deadline has been postponed several times. Representatives cited delays in obtaining the necessary permits as the reason for the delays.
    At the end of July, the operation of the restaurant at Mánes ended, and the exhibition activities were gradually suspended. Before the renovation begins, the foundation offers the building for social and corporate events.
    The building will be modified according to a project by the HMArchitekti studio, which does not plan any radical interventions. They want to return Mánes to its architectural and functional state from the 1930s. The lower hall from the 1980s will be removed, and new multifunctional spaces will be created in its place. The upper exhibition halls will be preserved.
    The original restaurant with a terrace and a painted ceiling by Emil Filla will also be restored. The foundation has already signed a contract with its future tenant. It is to be the company of Jan Štěpánek, which operates, among other things, the French restaurant Art Nouveau in the Municipal House.
The functionalist building of Mánes was designed at the request of the Mánes Association of Visual Artists by Otakar Novotný, who was among the most talented students of the famous architect Jan Kotěra. The construction was completed in 1930. Since the early 1990s, there has been a restitution dispute over the building. The Supreme Court ultimately determined NČVU as its owner.