Architect Pleskot: The large concert hall in Prague urgently needs

Prague - Prague needs to build a large concert hall where major philharmonic orchestras could perform. It is necessary to debunk the myths that the Municipal House and the Rudolfinum are sufficient for Prague. This was stated in an interview with journalists by member of the Association for Architecture and Development, architect Josef Pleskot. He considers the location near the Vltavská metro station, where the city wants to build a new concert hall, to be ideal. As an example that Prague could draw inspiration from, he mentioned the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Its large hall has a capacity of 2100 visitors, while the largest hall of the Rudolfinum has about 1200 seats.

"Recently, I was at the inaugural concert of the National Philharmonic at the Rudolfinum, where Mahler's Resurrection was performed. An enormous philharmonic spectacle. And it was evident that this space is simply too small for such grand music. Major philharmonic orchestras are bypassing Prague because of this, which saddens me. We are a musical nation and in Prague or in the entire Czech Republic, we do not have a concert hall where large philharmonic music can be produced," said Pleskot, who is also a member of the Society for the Construction of a New Concert Hall in Prague.

According to him, Prague additionally needs a building that would elevate public interest in architecture. "To create something that seemed it could arise with the construction of Kaplický's library. At that time, we were silenced. We fell silent and for a long time did not aspire to anything like what Kaplický's library could have been. And that needs to change," added Pleskot. The National Library in the shape of an octopus, according to architect Jan Kaplický's design, was originally planned to be built on Letná Plain in 2012. However, various politicians gradually got involved in the issue, the situation was complicated by a dispute over the land, and the antimonopoly office also intervened. Construction ultimately did not start at all.

The Vltavská location, which the city selected last year for the construction of a large concert hall, is considered ideal by Pleskot. "It is a very complicated location that needs a radical reconstruction as a whole. And when something significant needs to be done in terms of infrastructural transformations, it is suitable to incorporate such a complex building into it. Vltavská is awaiting transformation; it is part of the expanded center. Moreover, from here one can see the entire Prague panorama from Petřín to the Libeň gas holder. Including Prague Castle," Pleskot stated.

According to him, Prague needs to debunk the myth that the Municipal House or the Rudolfinum is sufficient and that Prague does not need any cultural building of this kind anymore. He cited the example of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, which opened in January 2017. Its large hall has a capacity of 2100 visitors. "I think some people would benefit from an excursion here. To see how beautiful a building can be. I particularly like that all the desires of the residents of Hamburg to have a landmark, a cult building of today in their city, are embedded in it," Pleskot added. According to Hamburg urban planner Peter Ger, the residents of Hamburg even organized a fundraiser for the construction of the philharmonic.