Plzeň will request a study from the studios that have already built the theater

Plzeň - Plzeň will invite five renowned European studios to create an architectural study for the construction of a new theater building for more than 300 million crowns. The city wants to have a modern theater instead of the current completely inadequate Chamber Theater, which was built about five years ago. On Thursday, the council decided that they would only approach those studios that have already completed a truly fully functional theater building. The cost of each study should not exceed one million crowns, councilor Marcela Krejsová (ODS) told reporters today. The procedure still needs to be approved by the council.
    According to her, the selection of studios that the city will contact is not difficult. "Theaters don't grow like mushrooms after rain. We know of five studios - one is in England, one in Portugal, in Austria, in Germany, and one is in the Czech Republic," Krejsová listed. The new theater is intended to be one of the arguments for Plzeň in its efforts to obtain the title of European Capital of Culture in 2015.
    The councilors believe that the offer from Plzeň will be interesting for architects because the realization of the new theater is a prestigious matter. "We have a representative theater building, which is a historical Art Nouveau building; we are looking for a replacement for the inadequate technical condition of the Chamber Theater, which was created from a cinema conversion. We prefer to look for a building filled with modern technology rather than external decorations," she noted.
    In designing the building, the studios must adhere to the internal layout concept that the city will obtain from a German company, as well as to the financial framework. The theater should cost around 300 million crowns, of which the city will contribute 200 million, and the Plzeň Region has provisionally promised 100 million. Krejsová anticipates that the study should be on Plzeň's table in September, then the winning proposal would be selected, and documentation for the building permit would begin to be prepared. "In 2010, we would like to break ground," she added.
    The new theater near the exhibition grounds, in the space between Palackého and Jízdecká streets, is expected to have a main hall with a capacity of 500 spectators and will also have a variable studio stage for another 200 people. The building is also expected to include exhibition spaces, boxes, an orchestra pit for 75 musicians, an orchestra rehearsal room, a ballet rehearsal room, and spaces for alternative theater that would offer modern dramatizations.