Slovak Radio, according to its director, should relocate

Bratislava - According to its director Miloslava Zemková, Slovenský rozhlas should move. One of the reasons, according to her, is the frequent fires in the electrical installations in the current building. Moreover, the radio does not use the entire building reminiscent of an inverted pyramid, and it does not have the money for its reconstruction. The Slovak Ministry of Culture wants to address the problem by building a new building for public media.
    "The minister's proposal (Marek Maďarič) to place the radio, possibly television, in other buildings makes sense," Zemková told ČTK. She emphasized, however, that this is her personal opinion, which is not yet supported by professional or financial outputs.
    According to her, the problem with fires in the radio's building is addressed nearly every week. "We pay for 20 firefighters on continuous duty, who immediately respond to fire alarms," the director stated.
    According to her, it is not the only problem that the radio does not have half a billion Slovak korunas (about 420 million korunas) for the repair of its headquarters. "A complete renovation of this building is not possible during the twenty-four-hour operation of the radio," Zemková asserts. In addition, the building was designed for 1450 employees; today it has about 700.
    The Slovak Television (STV) is in a similar situation, as it also does not utilize its entire building and has to invest in many repairs. Recently, for example, it changed elevators, which were allegedly in a state of emergency. The management of STV wants to continue discussions with the ministry about the idea of a shared headquarters for public media. However, according to STV director Radim Hrehy, it is first necessary to complete internal changes and resolve STV's position and funding.
    The proposal to build a shared headquarters for the radio, STV, and the Press Agency of the Slovak Republic near the new building of the Slovak National Theater will be presented by the Ministry of Culture to the Slovak government by the end of August this year.
    Until now, the radio has always moved to larger spaces. Its first building was on Jakubovo Square, and after the war, it was located in today's VŠMU building in the broader center of Bratislava. The current purpose-built radio building took 21 years to create. The design dates back to 1963 and the complex was completed in 1984.
    Despite the fact that currently some label the steel, inverted pyramid as a remnant of socialism, this unconventional architectural feat remains one of the landmarks of Bratislava. Its authors, Štefan Svetko, Štefan Durkovič, and Barnabáš Kissling, also designed several other well-known Bratislava buildings - Hotel Borik, Freedom Square, or the Družba university dormitory.