In Libeň, a new headquarters of the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University has opened.

photo: FHS Charles University

Prague – A new headquarters of the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University (FHS UK) was opened today in Libeň, Prague. The modern building, which was created by remodeling the former cafeteria of November 17, will start serving students from the new semester. It can accommodate around 800 people. The project, costing approximately 630 million crowns, has been in preparation by the faculty since 2007. Until now, it did not have its own headquarters, and its parts were located at various addresses in Prague. Today, the building was ceremoniously inaugurated by representatives of the university, the ministry, and the builders who designed the project. The faculty simultaneously celebrated 20 years since its inception.

"The building we are ceremoniously opening today is glassed on the outside and oriented toward a central shared atrium," described the building the dean of the faculty, Marie Pětová. The design comes from the Brno-based firm Kuba & Pilař architects s.r.o., which won the project competition in 2009. The faculty's headquarters is in a stark functionalist style, with a spacious inner courtyard and staircase dominated by simple concrete panels.

According to Pětová, the original cafeteria building was very massy, with a heavy core inside, the demolition of which took almost a year. "Basically, only the load-bearing structure remained from the original building; I would say about half of it, not even that," she stated. According to Charles University rector Tomáš Zima, the project cost 630 million crowns, of which the school or faculty paid 230 million. Most of the funds came from a state grant from the Ministry of Education, added Pětová.

The intention to move the faculty to the building of the former cafeteria of November 17 was born in 2007 when the college of the then-rector decided on its reconstruction. The cafeteria had been non-functional since 2002 when it was damaged by a flood. However, construction work did not begin until 2017.

The Faculty of Humanities, which is the youngest of the 17 faculties at Charles University, had not had its own building until now. "We have been located at three addresses in Prague so far," Pětová said. The dean's office and bachelor's studies were in Jinonice, most master's programs initially rented premises in a former kindergarten building in Hůrka, and later temporarily in the building of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport. One department was also located on Máchova Street in Vinohrady, said the dean. The faculty will now leave these addresses, she added.

FHS UK was established in August 2000. It now has over 2,500 students, and the new building will serve only it. "We expect that 800 people can occupy the building at once," Pětová indicated. According to her, the largest auditorium in the building is for 300 people, two lecture halls have 80 seats each, and there are smaller seminar rooms and teachers' offices in the building.

Outdoor modifications still need to be completed. According to earlier information from Charles University's spokesman Václav Hájek, they will cost about 77.5 million crowns and should be finished by the end of the year.

The university also opened a new pavilion for the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in Prague's Troja in June. The building, called IMPAKT, has an auditorium for 250 people, lecture halls, and a library. The school initiated the project in 2011, which cost around 325 million crowns; the school contributed 50 million, while the rest was covered by contributions from the Ministry of Education.