Prague still has not announced the competition for the completion of the Industrial Palace

Prague - The capital city still has not announced a competition for the completion of the Industrial Palace, which burned down last October. According to councilor Milan Richter (ODS), Prague is still waiting for a response from the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA). The chamber is expected to select two representatives by the end of this week who will sit on the jury. The jury will finalize the competition requirements and will also evaluate the proposals submitted for the competition. According to the ČKA's estimate, the competition could be announced within three weeks, but construction is not expected to begin before the start of 2011.
    "The jury will have to approve the competition requirements, which will then go to the council. We are not in a hurry; it is necessary that everything is properly prepared," Richter told ČTK.
    Jan Sapák from the ČKA, who is negotiating with the city about the selection of representatives, told ČTK that the city has tentatively chosen 12 names, and the chamber will provide two more. "In architectural competition juries, it is the case that 45 percent are so-called dependent jurors, who are usually employees of the organizer. The rest are experts from outside," said Sapák.
    According to him, the metropolis has so far proposed representatives from the Prague environment and from the municipal heritage preservation department among the so-called independent jurors. "It would be better if Prague chose more from outside the city to clearly demonstrate their independence," Sapák noted.
    According to Sapák's estimate, the results of the architectural competition could be known at the beginning of January. After that, the final project will be developed, and the city must obtain all necessary permits. This process will take another three-quarters of a year to a year according to Sapák. "According to my rough estimates, construction cannot begin before the beginning of 2011," he added.
    Last year's fire completely destroyed the left wing of the Industrial Palace. The completion of the palace will cost the metropolis about 1.5 billion crowns. Of that, one billion crowns will be needed for the restoration of the left wing, another 260 million is planned for the construction of an underpass under the Industrial Palace, and 220 million for technology. According to Richter, this technology will be placed in the basement of the left wing.
    In addition to the architectural competition, the city will also announce a tender for technical supervision of the construction. While the municipality's culture department will search for the architect, the urban investor's department is tasked with finding supervising technicians. The municipality will have 4.1 million crowns available for expenses related to the announcement of the competition this year.
    Prague insists that the new building closely resembles the original wing. At the same time, it will have to comply with current safety standards.
    According to earlier information from the firefighters, the fire was caused by a combination of several factors and was triggered by an electric stove. The firefighters have initiated administrative proceedings against the tenant of the exhibition grounds, Incheba, because they believe it did not adequately train its employees in fire prevention.
    The city leadership continues to negotiate with Incheba, which has rented the area from the municipality, regarding who will receive the insurance money.
    The municipality tried to conclude an amendment to the contract with Incheba that would ensure the completion of the damaged wing, but after disputes, the metropolis ultimately decided to prepare the restoration of the monument itself and have the project documentation developed.
    Insurance companies, with which the exhibition grounds are insured for 2.5 billion crowns, have estimated the damage caused by last year's fire at only 181 million crowns. This is not acceptable to either Prague or Incheba.