The construction of the new RFE building has begun; it will be a fortress

Prague - The new headquarters of the American station Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) will be a fortress allowing people inside to live comfortably, located in Prague's Hagibor. Today, architect Jakub Cigler from the Cigler/Marani Architects studio, which designed the building, told ČTK. The construction of the new RFE/RL headquarters was ceremoniously launched today in the presence of politicians and representatives of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). The new headquarters is expected to be completed in 2008.
"Our aim is to create a very simple cube that would be a modern fortress. A fortress that protects the people who broadcast the ideas of freedom to unfree countries. Therefore, we want it to provide protection while also allowing for a pleasant life," Cigler told ČTK. According to previous estimates by the station's management, the total costs for construction and relocation could reach about 14 million dollars (approximately 315 million crowns). The building will be constructed by Orco Property Group, and RFE/RL will have a 15-year lease with the option for an additional ten years extension.
The building, with more than 23,000 square meters of space, is planned to meet the strictest security standards. Allegedly, according to Cigler, the building's creators received several thousand detailed specifications and security requirements from the American administration. American experts are responsible for the building's structural aspects. Many pieces of information are also very sensitive, so, according to Cigler, Czech architects will not have full access to everything.
According to BBG member Steven Simmons, the construction of the building is just part of what the station faces. "We have to move from one part of Prague to another, without losing a single hour of broadcasting to all the countries we broadcast to," he said. "We have seen about 30 different locations where the station could move, but now I'm happy that we have found this new home," he added.
The relocation of the radio currently situated in the building of the former federal assembly near Wenceslas Square began to be considered after the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. Czech Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra told reporters that he does not see the relocation as any concession, but rather as a step forward.
"Every reasonable person will appreciate that it is moving from a place where it complicates traffic and many other operations in Wenceslas Square. This (new) location is far better in every aspect, not only from a security standpoint but also in terms of logistics and organization," he stated.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty currently broadcasts, according to the station's information, in 28 languages to 20 countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central and Southwestern Asia. For many countries without freedom of speech, the station's broadcasts are one of the few sources of objective information. Before 1989, it was based in Munich, Germany, but after the November revolution, it relocated to Prague.
Vondra told reporters that he has many fond memories of the station's broadcasts before 1989. According to him, RFE's key role came in 1989 when the speech of the then General Secretary of the Communist Party Miloš Jakeš, which included the famous remarks "about a post in the fence," was smuggled into Free Europe. "The speech was broadcasted for a whole year, and I believe it significantly contributed to mobilizing Czech public opinion before November 89," Vondra reminisced.