The Museum of Art in Olomouc has a valid permit for the construction of the SEFO building

Olomouc – The Museum of Art in Olomouc has begun preparing for the construction of the extensive project Central European Forum (SEFO) in the historical center, with the building permit coming into legal force. The museum can now choose a general contractor for the construction, which is expected to be known within the next year. Construction should then begin, with the building scheduled to open in 2031, museum spokesperson Tomáš Kasal informed CTK today. The construction with exhibition halls in the gap on Denisova Street will showcase Central European visual art, with a budget of 1.2 billion crowns.

The project documentation for obtaining the building permit was prepared by the office Šépka architekti based on a closed contract. "We had to deal with dozens of practical comments from the building authority, preservationists, network operators, and many others. The process also included many partial permits, so it took about a year and a half," said architect Jan Šépka, who is also behind the controversial design of SEFO.

The museum now has to complete the execution documentation for the construction, and then select a general contractor. The museum began preparing for the tender for the construction contractor during the design phase through preliminary market consultations. "It still holds that the above-ground part of SEFO should be created using 3D printing technology," said museum director Ondřej Zatloukal.

SEFO will rise in the gap next to the Museum of Modern Art. On five original medieval plots, architect Jan Šépka has designed a system of five new buildings that respects the original layout, including the preservation of the building line and cornice height.

In 2019, the government allocated approximately 600 million crowns for the construction of SEFO. Due to inflation and rising prices of all long-term planned extensive investment projects under the Ministry of Culture, the government established a new program, National Cultural Heritage II, at the end of 2024, which includes SEFO with an allocated budget of 1.2 billion crowns, added Kasal.

The new building will include a library, storage rooms, restoration workshops, and also two new exhibitions presenting regional and Central European art. "The exhibition of Central European art will be modular so that it creates a lively playing field for modern and contemporary art. This is the first time we have the opportunity to adequately and on a large scale present the works of Magdalena Abakanowicz, Victor Vasarely, or the Futurist group Dviženije. At the same time, we invite colleagues from other Central European institutions to collaborate," said curator Barbora Kundračíková.

The regional exhibition has a working title of Olomouc 1757-2027. It is expected to showcase local visual art and architecture from the end of the Baroque period to the present day.