Demolition of the Prague Hotel can begin, no one has appealed

Prague - The demolition of the Dejvice Hotel Praha can begin. No one has appealed against the decision of the Prague 6 Building Authority, which granted permission for the demolition last December, within the statutory period. Adam Halmoši, spokesperson for the city hall, said this to ČTK today. PPF spokesperson Radek Stavěl stated that the demolition of the hotel will begin within a few weeks. The investor plans to complete all work within one year. A school and a park are set to be established on the site.
    The decision to demolish the adjacent buildings has also become legally valid in recent days. Gabriela Kočová from the demolition company APB Plzeň told ČTK that within ten days, the demolition of more than 60 garages, a greenhouse, and the southern gatehouse with an economic yard and gate will begin. Workers have already started with preparatory works - manual dismantling, clearing of the buildings, and disconnecting utility networks.
    Published data on the website indicates that, according to preliminary estimates, all demolition work, including the removal of materials and land adjustments, will take five months. The demolition of the hotel itself is expected to take approximately three and a half months.
    "Modern technology known as 'cutting' with special construction machinery was chosen for the removal of the buildings," said the PPF spokesperson. "This technology allows for a rapid progress of work, its use eliminates noise and dust, and completely replaces the previously used blasting," he added. Workers will construct noise barriers around the building. During the demolition, a large rubber tarp suspended from a crane will be used to prevent the scattering of various particles and it will also serve as a dust barrier.
    The owner wants to restore the park on the site of the hotel, which existed in that location until the 1970s. However, the greenery will no longer be accessible to the public, as it was in the past. Instead of garages, there will be a connection to the neighboring property and the land of the Hadovka complex. The investor plans to build an elementary school and a gymnasium named Open Gate modeled after a similar complex in Babice near Prague.
    The Hotel Praha was built at the end of the 1970s. Until November 1989, it served the needs of the Communist Party and the Czechoslovak government. Many therefore perceive it as a symbol of the pre-November era. At the beginning of last year, a new owner bought it with the intention of demolishing it. Soon after, a group of theorists, artists, architects, and conservationists submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture to declare it a cultural monument. Not all experts agree with this. Architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš, for example, stated in the press that he considers the building to be average architecture.
    However, according to supporters of the hotel, the building is a unique example of architecture that stands out from the period's average. The artworks, decorations, and furniture in the interiors form an extraordinarily cohesive collection of contemporary art and design. The main architects of the building were Jaroslav Paroubek, Radko Černý, and Arnošt Navrátil; several other authors contributed to the generous design of the exterior and interior. In contrast, PPF points out that the building is oversized and uneconomical.