UJEP cannot yet demolish the old maternity hospital

photo: usti-aussig.net

Ústí nad Labem - The Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (UJEP) cannot currently demolish the building of the former maternity hospital located in the campus area. The Minister of Culture, Alena Hanáková, has decided to initiate a review procedure regarding the decision not to declare the structure a cultural monument. The text of the decision is available to ČTK. Preservationists have opposed the old pavilion A.
     The decision implies that the structure enjoys preliminary monument protection during the review process. Thus, the university cannot carry out the planned demolition, but rather, as the owner, must protect the building from damage.
     ČTK was unable to obtain a statement from UJEP regarding the decision. The university must respond to the decision made on December 7 within thirty days of its delivery. The civic association that submitted the proposal for the declaration of the building as a cultural monument welcomes the minister's decision. "This means that hopefully this time the historical and architectural value of the building will be assessed independently, without political pressure," said Martin Krsek, a member of the association and a historian from Ústí.
  If it is proven that the decision not to declare the building a monument was issued in violation of legal regulations, it can be amended or revoked, and the matter will be returned to the Ministry of Culture for further consideration. The minister indicates that there are reasonable doubts about the legality of the decision, as it may have harmed the public interest in the protection of cultural heritage.
     The decision not to declare the building a cultural monument from the end of August was then welcomed by UJEP's rector, René Wokoun. "I am glad that we will be able to continue with the planned development and construction of our campus," he stated.
     The project for the six-story building completed in 1937 was the work of Ústí municipal architects Franz Josef Arnold and Ernst Krob. "The renovation of the Ústí hospital by Arnold and Krob is among the advanced architectural realizations that responded to contemporary trends in foreign architecture and typological and aesthetic solutions impacted the development of architecture in Czech territory," stated the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) in its assessment, which was part of the proceedings for the declaration as a monument.
     According to a report from the Technical and Testing Institute for Construction in Prague, the reinforced concrete skeleton of the building shows parameters beyond the safe strength limits set for this type of building, and the lifespan of the materials used has been seriously exceeded.
     Declaring the building a monument would complicate the completion of the campus for the school. The Ministry of Education promised it a subsidy for demolition and new construction, while allegedly it would not receive a single koruna for reconstruction.
     In the campus built on the former district hospital site, the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies, the Faculty of Production Technologies and Management, the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design, part of the Faculty of Science, and the Central Library of the Faculty of Education have already settled. The entire campus, covering an area of about 90,000 square meters, is expected to cost around 2.9 billion koruna according to initial estimates.