The court will receive additional evidence regarding the renovation project of the Tugendhat villa

Brno - The Brno Regional Court will receive further evidence to determine whether architect Jan Sapák harmed the winner of the tender for the renovation of the Tugendhat villa with his statements about the controversial tender. The company Omnia has sued Sapák in the selection process, claiming his remarks about the manipulation of the city tender. Both parties to the dispute proposed additional evidence at today’s proceedings, including hearings for several witnesses. The court will continue on August 21.
    Sapák has repeatedly stated that the project of the winning company Omnia is too expensive and radical, comparing it to the plastic surgeries of American singer Michael Jackson. Omnia claims that this and other statements have harmed it.
    The architect, who was unsuccessful in the tender, is now relying, among other things, on a ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS), which confirmed that there were errors in the selection process. The main dispute is whether Omnia and its partners met the tender conditions. The regional court had previously ruled that the Brno City Hall should have disqualified Omnia. The NSS recently confirmed this.
    Omnia provided evidence from an external architect. However, Sapák pointed out today that the contract between this architect and the company was backdated. This could mean that at the time the certificate was needed, Omnia did not have it, and thus it would have indeed failed to meet the competition conditions. Company representative Vítek Tichý denies this.
    Omnia has already prepared the project for the renovation, and according to statements from city representatives, there is nothing preventing the city from announcing a tender for a construction company. Sapák wants to meet with Mayor Roman Onderka next week. If the meeting does not take place, he is prepared to take further steps. "We have about 35 steps planned ahead from all different angles," he noted. However, he did not want to specify them further.
    The Tugendhat villa is the only Czech modern art monument listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Its renovation was supposed to begin in 2002. However, due to numerous disputes among experts and politicians, it has not yet started. Heritage preservationists from the regional office issued the final decision required for the building permit only a few months ago.