The competition for the design of the Philharmonic could be announced by Prague in the middle of the year

Prague – The architectural competition for the design of a new concert hall for the Philharmonic in Prague at Vltavská could be announced by the capital city and the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) in mid-2023. The winner would then be known in April or May 2022. The city's leadership could discuss the first construction study at the turn of January and February this year. Project managers Martin Krupauer and Martin Gross from the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) mentioned this at today's meeting of the city magistrate's cultural committee. According to earlier information, the hall could be built by 2032.

Currently, according to Krupauer, the IPR is finalizing the feasibility study and other documents. "We are trying to have everything together by the end of this month. We would like to present it to the city council in February," he said. This is one of the conditions for launching the architectural competition.

By the end of February, according to the presentation shown at the committee meeting, the mentioned analysis should be evaluated, and decisions about the use and operational parameters of the building should be made. Only then will it be clear whether the construction preparation will move to the next phase, where the project documentation will be developed. This will take about 4.5 years, including the mentioned architectural competition.

In addition to the project itself, the managers believe that several problems will need to be resolved in the future. These include a traffic study of the area around Hlávkův Bridge, an underpass under the railway line, the design of the intersection of Antonínská and Bubenská streets, or flood protection. Another issue is the protective zone of the underground shelter at the C metro station Vltavská. "If nothing is done about this, then nothing can be built there," said Krupauer.

Prague city councilors approved a change to the zoning plan last autumn, which is intended to allow for the construction. The construction of the concert hall with a capacity of around 2,000 listeners was previously estimated to cost approximately four billion crowns, with a more precise estimate to emerge from the study. There is a commission for the preparation of the construction, headed by Krupauer.

Discussions about the construction of a large concert hall in Prague have been ongoing for decades. The most discussed issue has been the suitable location. The hall could have been built in Letná in the 1990s – at the site where a National Library was also considered according to the design by architect Jan Kaplický. Japanese investors wanted to dedicate the building to the Czech Philharmonic for its 100th anniversary. At that time, Culture Minister Milan Uhde and Mayor Milan Kondr rejected their offer.