Prague will announce an architectural competition for the design of a building for the epic

Prague - Prague will announce an architectural competition for the design of a gallery building for the Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha. The building is to be located at Těšnov. This was decided by the Prague councilors today. The proposal for the assignment, documents, and schedule should be ready by this September. It is unclear when the city will possibly start construction on the building and how much it will cost. The Epic is currently on display in Japan. Mucha gifted it to Prague on the condition that the city would build a space for it, which is still lacking.

"At the meeting of the advisory council of the Institute of Planning and Development, we discussed the location of the Epic. We rejected options to reconstruct existing buildings. We were not able to identify which ones those should be, and moreover, reconstruction would be more expensive than constructing a new building," said Mayor Adriana Krnáčová.

Prague will first have an urban study of the locality prepared and subsequently announce an international architectural competition. "The goal is to build a modern exhibition space for the permanent exhibition of the Epic on selected plots of land, integrating it into the urban structure of the city. The subject of the competition will be to select and assess the best design for a gallery on the site of the former Denis Train Station," states the document approved by the councilors.

The Department of Strategic Investments of the Magistrate has been tasked by the councilors to prepare the assignment proposal, documents, schedule, and proposal for financing the competition. The councilors should receive the documents for discussion by September 1, 2017. At the same time, the Institute of Planning and Development has to ensure the preparation of the urban study for the land at Těšnov.

Prague has been negotiating the construction of a building for the Epic for several years. In the past, for example, there was a proposal to build a building at the Exhibition Grounds. According to another proposal, it was to be located in Žižkov. No plan has been realized.

The Epic traveled this February under strict security conditions to an exhibition in Tokyo, where it will remain until June 5. Some restorers protested against this, fearing that the canvases might be damaged. Conversely, supporters of the foreign exhibition argue that Mucha anticipated the traveling of the canvases and chose appropriate materials for them.

Mucha painted the cycle at Zbiroh Castle from 1910 for a total of 18 years. It consists of 20 large-scale paintings inspired by Slavic mythology and the history of the Czech nation. The Epic has been listed as a cultural monument since 2010. The paintings are owned by Prague, to which Mucha donated them. His condition was that the city would build a suitable building for their display at its own expense. However, that building does not yet exist.