MK decides whether Transgas will be a monument on Vinohradská

The Club for Old Prague approached the Ministry last September with a proposal to initiate the proceedings. "Although the (ministerial) committee took into account that the National Heritage Institute did not recommend declaring the proposed complex as cultural heritage, it unanimously recommended to the ministry to declare the complex," said MK spokesperson Simona Cigánková today to ČTK.

The complex of the former Transgas Central Gas Dispatch and the Ministry of Fuels and Energy stands on Vinohradská Avenue beneath the building of Czechoslovak Radio. A total of three buildings were constructed between 1966 and 1976 in a brutalist style complemented by various technical details. "This is an exceptional work of 1970s architecture in Bohemia, reflecting the style pluralism of the era. An integral part of the architectural composition is also the neighboring building, which was constructed as the headquarters of the World Trade Union Organization," states the ministry's justification for initiating the declaration proceedings. It is unclear how long this process may take.

Proponents of protecting the buildings argue that the work of the team Jindřich Malátek, Ivo Loos, Zdeněk Eisenreich, and Václav Aulický is one of the most prominent examples of brutalism in the Czech Republic.

The later headquarters of Středočeské energetické, now a client center of the General Health Insurance Company, is owned by the development group HB Reavis, led by Slovak billionaire Ivan Chrenko, which plans to demolish it. Instead, it aims to build offices. The developer acquired two houses and the land between Vinohradská, Římská, and Rubešová streets in 2014 from the company ČEZ.

Buildings from the second half of the 20th century are not frequently regarded by the public, and sometimes even by experts, as worthy of heritage protection. Some buildings have been declared monuments after lengthy discussions, such as the Máj department store in Prague, while others have been rejected for state protection, allowing the owner to remove them. This is the case of the Ještěd department store in Liberec, which originated from the same architectural studio SIAL as the Prague Máj.

Currently, the MK is also deciding on initiating proceedings for the declaration of cultural heritage for the Omnipol building in Prague's Nekázanka, the Kotva department store, and the Thermal hotel in Karlovy Vary. Proceedings have already been initiated to assess the potential heritage values of the Libeň Bridge.