The police have shelved the case regarding the tender for the restoration project of the Tugendhat villa

Prague - The Anti-Corruption Service has shelved the case in which it was investigating the tender for the reconstruction project of the Tugendhat Villa in Brno, which is listed on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list. The suspicion that the tender was manipulated has not been confirmed. There is no suspicion of a criminal offense in this matter, said Veronika Dumková, spokesperson for the anti-corruption police, to ČTK today.
    The house is owned by Brno and managed by the Museum of the City of Brno. The competition under investigation by the anti-corruption police concerned the selection of the designer. In the repeated tender, the Association for the Tugendhat Villa, led by Omnia projekt, succeeded in 2004. However, the result, which was also confirmed by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), was challenged by unsuccessful architects, who were upheld by the Brno Regional Court last year. Its decision was then appealed by the ÚOHS. The tender will now be dealt with independently by the ÚOHS and the Supreme Administrative Court.
    The contract that the court and the antimonopoly office are dealing with has, however, already been largely fulfilled. The architects from the Association for the Tugendhat Villa submitted extensive documents for the historical restoration of the villa and were paid for their work.
    The firm that will repair the villa according to their project has not yet been selected by the council. The competition was announced once before but was canceled last year. A new tender has not yet been announced.
    The Brno City Hall is preparing a demanding reconstruction of the building and its structurally compromised foundations. However, necessary repairs have been postponed for years. Initially, it was due to a lack of funds, later due to doubts about the tenders, and now due to a request from the descendants of the original owners, who want to return the villa. However, the city does not intend to hand it over. Negotiations are still ongoing; most recently, the Mayor of Brno and his deputy offered the descendants the opportunity to collaborate on the reconstruction. The heirs left the meeting saying that the family would consider the offer.