Over 700 architects from around the world want to build a library in Prague

Prague - 760 architects and studios from various corners of the world are interested in building the new building of the National Library of the Czech Republic (NK) in Prague. That many authors registered for the international design competition for the construction, which is set to be built in Prague's Letná by 2010, by midnight on June 30. According to the client, it should not only address the long-standing spatial problems of the library but also be a significant contribution to contemporary architecture in the Czech Republic.
"The greatest interest is understandably from European countries, from which approximately 73 percent of the applicants come; architects from the Czech Republic and Slovakia are also well represented," said Zdeněk Tichý from the NK press department today to ČTK. Approximately 13 percent are from Asian countries and a comparable number of applications have also arrived from architects in North and South America. The remaining one percent is made up of applicants from Africa and Australia.
The director of the NK had estimated around three hundred interested parties. "Interest surged in the last two days, when nearly 400 candidates registered," Tichý added.
The interest of architects in building the new Czech National Library is even greater than a few years ago regarding the construction of the new Alexandria Library in Egypt. More than 600 proposals were submitted for the competition; the library was built by the Norwegian studio Snoheta, where Czech architect Martin Roubík also worked at that time. The construction of the library cost 200 million dollars (approximately 6.3 billion crowns at that time), and the funding came from all over the Arab world, with its opening in the autumn of 2002. An even larger event was the competition for the construction of the new Egyptological Museum, to which 2500 participants from 105 countries applied, with two dozen teams representing the Czech Republic, including Roubík.
The deadline for submitting design proposals for the Prague building is September 29. The first round will be evaluated anonymously by a jury in October, and the eight best proposals will proceed to the second round. The winning proposal is to be announced on March 3, 2007.
The total planned costs for the construction of the library are approximately 1.8 billion crowns according to calculations from 2004. The planned costs for the competition itself amount to 26.5 million crowns, of which 600,000 euros (now approximately 17 million crowns) is designated for prizes for the competitors.
What kind of building Prague will receive in the form of the new library building will be assessed by an international jury headed by British architect of Iraqi origin Zaha Hadid. The jury includes French architect Dominique Perrault, the author of the new French National Library, British architect of Czech descent Eva Jiřičná, and Mexican architect José Grinberg. Because construction will take place at the boundary of the protected area, there will be a representative from UNESCO on the jury, along with Mayor Pavel Bém, the director of the NK, and Czech architect Petr Bílek.