The former branch of Komerční banka in Smíchov was bought by the Ústí-based Manoral Global

prager

Prague - The former branch of Komerční banka in Prague's Smíchov has been purchased by the Ústí-based company Manoral Global. The distinctive building in the shape of a truncated pyramid by architect Karel Prager was no longer suitable for the bank. The price at which the building was sold has not been disclosed by Komerční banka. This is reported by the e15 server. Manoral Global is owned by the Ústí entrepreneur Radko Vrbík.

"We have sold it and are glad that the building is set to have some further life and hopefully a noble purpose. For us, it was no longer suitable; over the years, the building became inadequate for us," said Jan Juchelka, the head of Komerční banka, to the server. According to him, the Smíchov building was one of the least efficiently functioning properties of the bank in Prague, and the local team was "extremely happy" to have moved to new premises.

The two-story building is designed in a brutalist style. The new owner has not yet stated what plans they have for it. "The building is of a commercial nature and may be used in a similar way to the past in the future," Zdenka Klapalová, head and partner in the Czech branch of the British real estate and consulting firm Knight Frank, told the e15 server. Knight Frank's advisors were partners to Komerční banka in the transaction.

The building was designed in the 1970s as one of the headquarters of the then State Bank of Czechoslovakia. Its construction was completed in 1992, and a year later, it was acquired by Komerční banka, which had a branch there until 2022. The e15 server points out that the building evokes controversial reactions from both the lay and professional public.

Karel Prager is one of the most prominent Czech architects of the second half of the 20th century. His most acclaimed work is the building of the Research Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Břevnov, which was declared a cultural monument in 2000. Other of his projects in Prague are not so unequivocally accepted. Some hate them, while others are enchanted by them, whether it be the former Federal Assembly building, the New Stage of the National Theatre, or indeed the Smíchov building.

Prager also contributed to the reconstruction of the Rudolfinum and a number of other buildings. His recent works include the residential complex U Kříže in Jinonice, which was awarded the title of Building of the Year in 1999.