In the Mánes building, the first phase of reconstruction is reaching its peak

Prague - The most demanding phase of the reconstruction of the Prague Mánes building is reaching its peak. The construction company has removed most of the internal partitions, ceilings, and other non-original elements that have accumulated in the interior over the past 80 years. New installations will include air conditioning, which the gallery lacked, heating, and electricity. As part of the reconstruction, the area surrounding Mánes is also being renovated, Martin Pavala from the Czech Fine Arts Foundation (NČVU), which is the investor and operator, told reporters today.
The investor opened the construction site to the media today as part of the first visiting day called deconstruction. It will be opened again twice more before the reconstruction is completed; this autumn it should showcase the new arrangement of interior spaces.
     The reconstruction of this significant monument of Czech modern architecture began in April this year and will last until June next year. The gallery is set to open to the first visitors at the turn of September and October. The building is being renovated at a cost of 120 million crowns by the construction company Skanska. The main architect of the reconstruction is the HMA studio, with the interiors being designed by architect Daniela Polubědovová.
     The 120 million budget does not include, for instance, the equipment for the halls or the costs of preparing the reconstruction. The foundation is still seeking sponsors and is currently preparing an application for a grant from Norwegian funds. One third of the budget has been covered, and the rest has been borrowed from a bank, with Mánes's operations expected to pay it back over 20 years.
     "Eighty percent of the reconstruction is about technology since Mánes, to continue functioning as a gallery, lacked even the most elementary technological advancements that any gallery operation requires," said Pavala. The functionalist building currently offers a view of its unique "exposed" structure. Through the reconstruction, the foundation aims to return to the original project from the 1930s. According to Pavala, the gallery has not fulfilled its function, and the context of the building with its environment has completely broken down, which has deterred public interest.
      In the lower floor, which is limited by low ceilings, two multifunctional halls are being created. The restaurant and café with a terrace and a unique painted ceiling by Emil Filla will also be restored. The upper floor will again serve administrative purposes, but this space is also expected to be converted into a gallery in the future. Mánes will be barrier-free, which is why two new communication cores, elevator shafts, will be added.
     "Everything is returning to the original layout. The major change compared to the state known from the past decades is in the lower floor, in the part facing Slovanský Island. There used to be a lower small exhibition hall, which, at the time of its establishment in the 70s and 80s, sacrificed the fantastic space of the originally designed 'French restaurant'," added Pavala.
     The functionalist building was designed at the request of the Association of Fine Artists Mánes by Otakar Novotný, who was one of the most talented students of the famous architect Jan Kotěra. The construction was completed in 1930.