The management of NPÚ disagrees with the completion of the construction on Revoluční street

Prague - The management of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) disagrees with the project that aims to replace the neo-Renaissance building at the corner of Revoluční and Nové mlýny streets in Prague. Members of the scientific council of the NPÚ's general director admitted, however, that the neo-Renaissance building could be demolished. CTK was informed about this by NPÚ spokesperson Zdeňka Kalová.
    The planned new building should, according to the project authors, harmonize and complete the more robust context of the Vltava Palace standing on the opposite side of the street and the intimate scale created by the water tower and the baroque house between it and Revoluční street. The first two floors should contain services for the public, above them offices, and possibly apartments at the very top.
    However, the NPÚ management assesses the project as an inappropriate solution. "The proposed design does not address the complicated urban situation in an appropriate way and does not create added architectural value in this part of the Prague Heritage Reserve," the members of the scientific council justified their position.
    However, they acknowledged the possibility that if a suitable solution could be found, the neo-Renaissance building from the second half of the 19th century might be demolished.
    According to Kalová, the institute's director Naďa Goryczková will now propose to the city’s culture and heritage department to reject this project. However, the department has already received a positive opinion from the NPÚ's Prague office. The Club for Old Prague opposed the project.
    What verdict the municipal department will ultimately accept is currently unclear. "We are in a very hesitant situation," said its director Jan Kněžínek to CTK. "We will take all opinions into account, and we may ask for assessments from other experts," he added. According to him, time is not that significant in this case.
    According to the Club for Old Prague, around 1870 today's Revoluční street was built up with a continuous row of new apartment buildings featuring rich historicizing decor. Building 1502 was the second in a row of six buildings from the bridge. The first was the so-called Eliška Spa building. However, it was demolished in 1940 due to the construction of a ramp to the bridge. The building at Revoluční 1502 thus ended up on the edge of the street line, and its gable wall was exposed towards the bridge.