The Ministry of Culture revoked the preservationists' permit for the marshmallow

The cancellation of the opinion means that a new building permit process would have to be conducted. If the investor continues to pursue the construction, the project must be reassessed by the municipal heritage officials, who must issue a new opinion. Residents of Prague and the National Gallery, which is located in the neighboring Anežský monastery, protested against the construction plan.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Simona Cigánková, told ČTK today that as early as 1999, the municipal office allowed the same builder to carry out the project under certain conditions from the perspective of heritage protection. However, in 2010, he submitted a project that proposed a more drastic method of construction, as well as later the project called marshmallow. "From the perspective of heritage protection, no fundamental barriers prevent the completion of legal steps for the realization of this construction and its subsequent execution," stated the ministry.

However, the Prague municipal office canceled the zoning decision for the intended construction in its current form in September, referencing a violation of the building law. The decision reportedly lacks certain requirements, such as the type of land, distances from neighboring buildings, clearly and understandably described shape of the building, or delineation of the area affected by the construction.

The ASORKD association and the Civic Monitoring approached the ministry's heritage inspection in May this year with a proposal to initiate a review of the binding opinions of the municipal heritage officials. According to Civic Monitoring, the officials' permits were in stark contradiction to the status of the Prague Heritage Reserve and the protective regime of the Anežský monastery, which is a national cultural monument.

ASORKD also pointed out that the binding opinions from 2012 and 2014 issued for the zoning process and the building process were issued in contradiction to the condition set by the Ministry of Culture in 2010. For example, the ministry required that the material of the façade be traditional, as well as the roofing. The ministry also pauses in its current decision to question why the original project of the building from the perspective of heritage protection was rejected by the municipal office, only to be approved after its modification, which among other things, almost retains the mass and height.

The house was designed by architect Zdeněk Fránek. His original version from 2008, which included a glazed façade, was rejected based on the opinion of the National Heritage Institute, and the Ministry of Culture canceled the approval of Prague's heritage officials in 2010. However, the new project by Praga Progetti e Investimenti with windows shaped like faces was approved by the municipal heritage officials. The author of the proposal rejects the criticisms of the opponents, claiming he never planned a façade in pink color, which gave rise to nicknames referring to pink-and-white candy.

The company Praga Progetti e Investimenti appealed in September against the cancellation of the zoning decision and previously protested against the work of the heritage inspection - its staff allegedly had conflicts of interest. It quantified its loss in case the binding opinions were canceled at more than ten million crowns. The Minister of Culture rejected the allegations based on the recommendation of the appeal committee.