The architect disagrees with the replacement of lamps in the square in Olomouc

photo: Ester Havlová

Olomouc - Prague architect Petr Hájek, who is a co-author of the reconstruction project of the Upper Square in Olomouc, disagrees with the city's intention to install new street lamps in the historical center of the city. Hájek told ČTK today that he sent a letter to Olomouc Mayor Martin Novotný (ODS), whom he also requested a meeting with. ČTK is seeking a statement from the city hall.
    The city hall decided to replace the public lighting in the Upper Square after 12 years. The existing lamps, which were installed in this square during its last extensive reconstruction, do not provide sufficient lighting according to experts, which has sparked passionate debates right after their commissioning in 2001.
    Hájkovi does not like that the city wants to place Philips Urbanstar lamps in the Upper Square, which are supposed to illuminate the neighboring Lower Square after the reconstruction is completed. The architect believes that the lamps originally designed by his studio are more suitable, which were not liked by some councilors and heritage protectors in 2001 and were replaced by Thorn-type fixtures, which, according to Hájek, was a compromise.
    "Today I sent a letter to the Mayor, in which I expressed my disagreement with the city of Olomouc's intention to replace the public lighting lamps in the Upper Square with the type designed for the Lower Square," said Hájek, who asked the mayor for further information and a meeting. "I hope that a common solution can be found. At this moment, there is a risk that the architectural quality of the current realization stemming from the competition in 1995 will be fundamentally damaged," he believes.
    Before the planned replacement of the lamps, the city hall will have to obtain the consent of the authors of the reconstruction project of the Upper Square, according to Hájek. "There could be a violation of the copyrights we have for this space. If they wanted to install any type of lighting against our will that would damage this matter, we will of course defend ourselves," he stated earlier.
    The city hall aims to equip the Upper Square with new lamps by next year at the latest, and the lighting replacement will cost several million crowns. The new Philips Urbanstar lamps emit much more light than the original ones, but according to Novotný, they should not disrupt the original concept, which focuses on illuminating the historical buildings lining the Upper Square.
    The city hall paid nine million crowns for 33 Thorn lamps 12 years ago. The weak light in the square blinded the security cameras during the test operation in March 2001. The city hall then had to buy new cameras for 400,000 crowns. Experts later measured the light intensity and confirmed that the lamps did not shine brightly enough.