Tesco allegedly plans to demolish the department store Máj

PRAGUE - A report appeared on the server iDnes.cz about the planned demolition of the former Máj department store. According to Prague councilors, its current owner, Tesco, has requested a demolition permit, and a new multifunctional building is expected to be constructed in place of the existing structure. However, according to Tesco, it will not be a demolition, but a thorough reconstruction (although a request for a demolition permit has indeed been submitted).
The Máj department store was built between 1972-75 based on the designs of architects J. Eisler, M. Masák, and M. Rajniš. After the transmitter at Ještěd, it was another extraordinarily successful design by the Liberec firm SIAL, which clearly built upon the pre-war functionalist architecture. At the time of its inception, the prominent number 02 on the facade caused a scandal, which had to be replaced by the inconspicuous Máj logo.