The demolition of Transgas began with the removal of the roof covering

Prague - The roofing of the Transgas buildings on Vinohradská street in Prague is disappearing. Thus, the demolition phase of removing the empty 1970s structures has begun. The demolition is expected to be completed by autumn. In response to a query from ČTK, Jakub Verner from HB Reavis, the company that owns the buildings, stated this. At the beginning of February, the company announced plans to sell Transgas or the already empty land.

"The work has already transitioned into its demolition phase. The construction of scaffolding around the building is finishing up, work on the first crane is also finishing, we are establishing crane number two, and we have simultaneously begun the dismantling of the roofing," Verner stated. According to him, the removal of the roofing is an irreversible intervention in the building's skeleton.

There is nothing left in the buildings; all partitions have been demolished on the individual floors, leaving only the load-bearing walls. The interiors, apart from the load-bearing elements, have been dismantled, and the builders are also removing the granite cladding from the central dispatch building, Verner added.

According to earlier statements, the demolition will be environmentally friendly, and the company is also considering cleaning any potential pollution from the surrounding roads. The construction department of Prague 2 approved the demolition of the complex in January this year, and no one appealed the decision. A fence has since been erected around Transgas.

HB Reavis wants to sell Transgas or the empty land along with a development project that they are preparing there. The capital city has also shown interest in the complex, wanting to preserve the buildings and relocate up to 500 municipal officials into them. However, representatives of the city and the owners could not agree on a price.

The complex of the former Gas Central Dispatch Transgas and the Ministry of Fuel and Energy is located a short distance from Wenceslas Square, below the Czech Radio building. It is the work of the team Jindřich Malátek, Ivo Loos, Zdeněk Eisenreich, and Václav Aulický. The intention to demolish the complex has sparked debates about the architecture from the socialist era, which has both its supporters and critics.

The Club for Old Prague attempted to protect the complex from demolition by proposing to the Ministry of Culture that it be declared a monument. The Prague branch of the National Heritage Institute did not recommend the declaration, stating that "the complex does not create an urban environment and materially and in scale damages the environment of the urban heritage zone." The ministry did not declare the buildings as monuments.

Supporters of the building consider it an example of stylistically synthetic architecture from the 1970s, combining elements of brutalism, technicism, and postmodernism, but also a unique realization of postmodern urbanism in Czech territory.