Petition against high-rise buildings in Olomouc

Source
Za krásnou Olomouc, o.s.

Publisher
Tisková zpráva
21.05.2012 11:55

The civic association Za krásnou Olomouc has concluded a petition campaign Against High-Rise Buildings in Olomouc, which was signed by over 800 citizens by May 21. On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at 3 PM, members of the petition committee, led by architectural historian Prof. PhDr. Rostislav Švácha, CSc., will personally deliver it to the city's mayor, Martin Novotný.
“The seriousness of the petition's content is evidenced by the fact that among the more than eight hundred signed citizens are dozens of significant personalities from the ranks of architects, art historians, and heritage conservationists, including professors Jindřich Vybíral, Emil Přikryl, Pavel Zatloukal, and publisher Martin Souček,” says the chairman of the association, Alexandr Jeništa.
The petition requests a change in the wording of the proposed Urban Plan of the statutory city of Olomouc, specifically regarding those sections that allow for the future construction of additional high-rise buildings in Olomouc, particularly the planned tower building in the Šantovka area between Kosmonautů, Wittgensteinova, and Šantova streets, right on the edge of the second largest and most significant city monument reserve in the Czech Republic.
“We are deeply convinced that high-rise buildings irreparably damage the silhouette of our city, as demonstrated by the already standing tower structures on Kosmonautů Avenue (Moravian University) and Jeremenková Street (Regional Center Olomouc),” says petition committee member, architectural historian Prof. PhDr. Rostislav Švácha, CSc. He adds that “the panorama of the historic city is a public value that deserves extraordinary care and protection. Attempts to ‘privatize’ this public value by a narrow group of owners of high-rise buildings must be rejected, especially if their motivation is merely personal profit or even just ostentatious exhibitionism.”
The Za krásnou Olomouc association has also organized several public events on the topic of the petition, notably a nearly three-hour public debate on the proposed Urban Plan of Olomouc, which was attended by around 200 citizens in December 2011, a significant success considering the complexity of the topic. Additionally, a well-attended lecture High-Rise Buildings vs. Historic Centers was given by art historian and executive of the Club for Old Prague Richard Biegel. “The topic of spatial and urban planning was also addressed in the lecture Searching for the Livable City by the prominent Czech architectural theorist, urban planner, and architect Pavel Hnilička, whose book Settlements Mash is among the most inspiring theoretical studies published in the last few decades in our country,” presents one of the events, Prof. Švácha.
The justifications for the petition's demands are further reinforced by the negative positions of the Czech Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage Institute issued regarding the planned high-rise buildings in the draft of the new Urban Plan. “We believe that the competent executive bodies of the Olomouc City Hall will respect these positions and take a NEGATIVE stance on the currently ongoing proceedings and all further stages of projects involving high-rise buildings. We also hope that they will do everything possible to prevent any attempts by investors to push for high-rise buildings within the framework of the existing urban plan,” comments another member of the petition committee, art historian Martina Mertová.
In addition to the sheets with the signatures of the petitioners, the petition committee will also present an eloquent gift to Mayor Novotný. “Prof. Švácha created paper models of three Olomouc tower buildings – two already standing in their specific form and a third, still planned, as a volumetric study. We would like these three artifacts to remain in the mayor's office as a memento,” adds architectural historian Jakub Potůček.

In Olomouc, May 21, 2012

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