The buildings of the Academy of Art will undergo modernization, which will be carried out by ČEZ

Prague - The buildings of the Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) in Prague are set to undergo modernization. Among other things, the air conditioning system will be renovated, and there are plans for lighting replacement. Savings on energy are expected to amount to at least 31.6 million crowns during the ten-year project. CTK was informed today by CEZ spokesman Roman Gazdík. The supplier is the company ENESA, a subsidiary of ČEZ ESCO. The work is set to be completed by the end of this year.

According to Gazdík, the project combines the so-called energy savings method with a guarantee (EPC) with grants under the new rules of the Operational Program Environment (OPŽP), making it the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. Applicants who implement savings in their buildings using the EPC method are entitled to an additional five percent grant on top of the basic grant.

When using EPC, the supplier contractually guarantees to achieve savings; otherwise, they cover the difference themselves. The customer does not need to allocate funds from their budget for modernization; the costs of installing energy-saving measures will be gradually covered by the achieved energy savings. Last year, projects under the EPC method from ENESA saved Czech municipalities and public institutions 215 million crowns, according to CEZ.

"We wouldn't be able to pay for the window replacements or roof insulation just from the savings; the grant will help us, which is higher thanks to the combination with EPC. Moreover, with EPC, the costs for modernizing the energy management of the buildings will be returned to us through contractually guaranteed and transparent savings," said AVU rector Tomáš Vaněk.

The project includes the replacement of 920 light bulbs and fluorescent lights with LED lighting. Hundreds of windows will be refurbished or replaced with replicas. The original frames of the atypical studio windows will remain and will only be fitted with new insulating double-glazing. The reconstruction will also affect the side doors to the garden and the double-leaf double doors to the studio, where, for instance, the statue of Saint Wenceslas from Wenceslas Square was completed.

"Every historical building requires an individual and considerate approach. This was similarly the case, for example, at the National Theatre or the Rudolfinum, where EPC has been successfully functioning for five years now," added ENESA's CEO Václav Taubr.

The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague utilizes a total of five buildings constructed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. These are registered cultural monuments, architecturally contributed to by Jan Kotěra and Josef Gočár, among others. ČEZ stated that the modernization will be carried out exceptionally carefully, with regard to the historical and artistic significance of these structures.