The National Museum announced an architectural competition for its exhibitions

Prague - The National Museum in Prague today announced an architectural competition for the design of new exhibitions, exhibition spaces, and visitor services in its historic building and the adjacent new building of the former Federal Assembly. In an area of more than 16,000 square meters, visitors will find ten new museum exhibitions after 2018, when the reconstruction is expected to be completed. This was announced to reporters today by the General Director of the National Museum, Michal Lukeš.
    "We are looking for a team of architects to help us materialize the idea of connecting two architecturally and spatially different and seemingly contradictory objects,” Lukeš told ČTK. He added that 483 million crowns are available for the new exhibitions, the equipment of exhibition spaces, and visitor services.
    The deadline for applications for the two-round competition is August 7, with the deadline for the first round of the competition being October 19. Results are expected to be published in January or February of next year. In April 2016, a public exhibition of the assessed proposals is to follow. The chairman of the jury will be Michal Stehlík, Deputy General Director of the National Museum. The eleven-member jury includes representatives from the Ministry of Culture, architects, artists, and representatives from various cultural institutions.
    "The historic building of the National Museum is undergoing extensive reconstruction. Now the museum is announcing its largest competition for exhibitions in over a hundred years,” Lukeš noted. The reconstruction, costing more than 1.35 billion crowns, started this year, and builders are expected to complete it in October 2018.
    The National Museum will open a total of ten new exhibitions in the newly reconstructed historic building, connected to the New building of the National Museum by an underground corridor. According to Lukeš, these exhibitions will tell the stories of Czech and Central European history, nature, and the animal kingdom. They will present historical events, the development of the Czech and Czechoslovak state, and will include a special Children's Museum. The central space will remain the Pantheon of the National Museum.

> more information at www.nm.cz