Heritage conservationists reject plans for the reconstruction of Klementinum

Prague - The monument preservationists of the municipality reject some of the plans of the National Library (NL) for the reconstruction of the Klementinum in Prague. They disapprove of the demolition of the service hall, the roofing of the Economic Courtyard, or the underground parking lot below the Technical Courtyard. The municipal department of culture, monument preservation, and tourism states this in its response to the planned reconstruction. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) will now be prepared for the revitalization of the Klementinum.
The leadership of the National Library is considering several options for modifying the baroque complex of the Klementinum, where the National Library is located. The Klementinum should receive new facades and windows during the renovation, but the service hall should also be demolished, to be replaced by a multi-story building. The roofing of the Economic Courtyard is also planned.
However, the Prague monument preservationists are not at all pleased with the library's plans and consider some of them unacceptable. "The submitted material presupposes very drastic interventions into the culturally historical substance of the national cultural monument Klementinum, which are fundamentally inappropriate as a whole," writes the department of monument preservation. They only admit that it might be possible to consider some partial proposals if the NL submits specific suggestions supported by the necessary surveys.
For example, the municipal preservationists reject the planned demolition of the service hall. "The service hall is now considered an integral part of the architectural complex of Klementinum," they wrote. Therefore, they do not agree with the multi-story structure that would be built in place of the hall. They are also not enthusiastic about underground parking beneath the Technical Courtyard. They warn that it is necessary to account for the possibility of extraordinary archaeological findings and that the entire building is located in a flood-prone area.
They also disapprove of the roofing of the Economic Courtyard. The documentation that the library management submitted for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) is considered insufficiently developed in this regard.
The preservationists fundamentally disagree with the demolition of the new entrance from Platnéřská Street, which is more than 40 meters wide and over two stories high. "Such a breach would mean an extraordinary destruction of valuable historical masonry, including vaults," the department is convinced. However, the library previously stated that it would not construct this entrance.
The renovation of the library will also bring several interesting technical solutions. According to the proposal, the internal spaces could be cooled by water from the Vltava River. However, the preservationists are skeptical about this as well, arguing that such a solution would be complicated and therefore expensive.
The library has been planning the reconstruction and revitalization of the Klementinum for a long time, but primarily wanted to combine it with the construction of a new building that was supposed to address capacity issues. The project for the new building is currently dead for political reasons; the library is now focusing on building other spatial capacities. One of the five repair options, for instance, suggests building a depository in one of the courtyards.