A project with options for the use of the basement will be created for Čapek's villa

Prague - A renovation project with three options for the use of the basement will be developed for the Čapek Villa in Prague. It is expected to provide facilities for the planned museum. The city hall of Prague 10, which purchased the villa a few years ago, will pay about 5.7 million crowns for it according to a notice in the public procurement bulletin. The museum located in the villa is expected to be accessible to the public from 2018.

"The condition of the building and inventory and the preparation for its operation for both professional and lay audiences require a sensitive renovation of the building and the implementation of modifications for making the exhibitions accessible," the document states. Moreover, the city district needs the project in order to announce tenders for individual construction works.

The company of the city district will provide a study on the use of the basement, documentation for the necessary permits and construction, and the interior project, while also acting as the project supervisor on site. Upon completion, it will establish an orientation system and prepare an evacuation plan. It is expected to start in July of this year, with the contract ending a year later.

In the planned museum, which visitors will be able to tour in small groups, all guided tours will begin in the garden. From there, visitors will enter the basement of the house, where the museum's facilities and spaces for meetings and readings will be located. The first floor will have space for temporary exhibitions, which will also be used for representation purposes of Prague 10. The second floor and attic will remain preserved in the state in which Čapek left them.

The writer's half of the duplex villa, built between 1923 and 1924, was purchased by the city hall the year before last from the heirs for 44 million crowns. At the same time, the city district applied to the Ministry of Culture for the villa to be included on the list of national cultural monuments. The other half of the duplex belongs to the descendants of the painter Josef Čapek, Karl's brother.