Transgas on Vinohradská Street in Prague is not a cultural monument

Prague - The Transgas building complex on Vinohradská Street in Prague, built in the brutalist style, is not a cultural monument. The owner can demolish it after obtaining the necessary permits. In its place, a multifunctional building consisting of seven structures, designed by architect Jakub Cigler, the author of the Prague buildings Quadrio and Florentinum, as well as other administrative and residential buildings, is expected to be constructed. The Ministry of Culture's decision is not yet final; participants in the proceedings can file an appeal.

"The Ministry of Culture has sided with the expert opinion of the advisory team and did not declare the buildings of the former headquarters of the gas company Transgas to be a cultural monument," said Jakub Verner, spokesperson for the current buildings' owner HB Reavis, to ČTK today. He does not want to specify the timeline for the work. "Everything will depend on the permitting processes, which we would like to start in the first half of next year," he stated.

The Ministry of Culture reviewed the proposal to declare the buildings as a monument at the request of the Club for Old Prague. The National Heritage Institute did not recommend the declaration, stating that "the affected area does not create an urban environment and materially and in scale damages the environment of the urban conservation area." Nevertheless, the ministerial commission began examining the proposal.

The group of buildings of the former Central Dispatching of Transgas and the Ministry of Fuels and Energy stands beneath the Československý rozhlas building. Supporters of the protection of the buildings argue that the work by the team Jindřich Malátek, Ivo Loos, Zdeněk Eisenreich, and Václav Aulický is one of the most prominent realizations in the brutalist style in the Czech Republic.

However, the Ministry ultimately decided that the complex would not be protected. "The architectural qualities of the existing buildings do not compensate for their serious urban deficiencies," states their position, as quoted by Verner.

"A public space with greenery, publicly accessible terraces, and barrier-free passage will be created in the calming inner courtyard. The design is divided into seven buildings and reflects the surrounding scale of Vinohrady. The project is positively assessed by architect Eva Jiřičná, architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš, and also by architect Václav Aulický of the existing complex," he stated.

"We perceive the Ministry of Culture's decision as a new opportunity for the lower part of Vinohradská Street and a signal of hope for its revitalization. The project gives the location a chance to become a place where people will gladly commute to work and which will also serve its immediate surroundings," stated Petr Herman, director of HB Reavis in the Czech Republic.

Buildings from the second half of the 20th century are not often perceived by the public, and sometimes even by experts, as deserving of monument protection. Some of these buildings have been declared a monument after long discussions, such as the Prague department store Máj, but the state has refused to protect others, allowing the owner to remove them. This is the case with the Liberec department store Ještěd, which originated from the same architectural studio SIAL as Prague's Máj. Currently, the Ministry of Culture is also deciding on possible monument protection for the Kotva department store and is considering initiating proceedings for the Karlovy Vary Thermal hotel.