New Stage is a cultural monument, and the National Theatre plans its reconstruction

Prague – The building of the New Stage of the National Theatre (ND) has been declared a cultural monument. This was announced by representatives of the management of the National Theatre at today's press conference, where they presented the plan for the reconstruction of this building. Along with it, the ND plans to reconstruct operational building B, previously known as the restaurant building or Themos, which ND recently regained management of after two decades.

Completion of the project work is expected by the end of this year, with construction planned to start in mid-2022 and completion anticipated in 2024. According to earlier information, the reconstruction is expected to cost around 700 million crowns. The building, from the turn of the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, is a significant representative of Czechoslovak brutalist architecture.

"The decision of the Ministry of Culture to declare the ND New Stage as a cultural monument was delivered to the participants of the proceedings via data mailbox in recent days," the press department of the MK informed CTK today. The proposal to declare the theatre building has been with the ministry for several years. However, ND took into account during the preparation of the reconstruction that the building might be declared a monument; the entire complex is located in the City Heritage Reserve and is therefore also protected as a monument.

The Institute of Theory and History of Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University completed a structural-historical survey of the buildings that ND plans to reconstruct last autumn. They conducted it for the general designer of the reconstruction, which is the Society for the New Stage. Experts found a high degree of preservation of authentic elements in the buildings. The New Stage is one of the most discussed buildings in Prague due to its exterior.

"We have a plan on how to turn the New Stage into a new variable theatre in the spirit in which architect (Josef) Svoboda and architect (Karel) Prager worked, how to restore everything that deserves to be restored since the 80s, and how to solve some logistical problems that were inadequately addressed back then due to means and technologies," said Jan Burian, the general director of the National Theatre, today.

The reconstruction is to build upon the ongoing reconstruction of the underground garages under the piazzetta. According to the theatre's management, the reason for the reconstruction is the technologically inadequate state of the New Stage auditorium and the devastated condition of operational building B, in which the building was handed over by previous private owners.

The long-unused building was sold at auction five years ago, when ND purchased it for 290 million crowns. The price exceeded the starting price set at 87 million by more than 200 million. The estimated price was 124 million crowns. It went to auction due to the insolvency of the company Themos, which had owned it for the last few years prior.

The case surrounding the Themos building has been ongoing since the early 90s, when the state gave the building to the Ursulines within the framework of restitution. Later, it was discovered that it had been issued by mistake. The religious sisters, however, sold the property to Themos in the meantime, and he demanded the theatre to vacate the premises. Parliament insisted on expropriation at that time, and the ND led legal disputes with the owner. The building then became the subject of bankruptcy proceedings.

According to the ND management, the architectural intention for the reconstruction of the New Stage does not change the external appearance of the buildings, preserving all the originally architecturally valuable interior spaces. It will newly open parts of the buildings to the public and allow for greater use of the ND piazzetta, said ND operational director Václav Pelouch.

Perhaps the most significant change awaits the main hall of the New Stage, which has outdated theatre technology and poor acoustics. A theatre stage with a variable arrangement of the hall space for various performances with a capacity of up to 500 seats using contemporary modern theatre technologies and variable acoustics is to be created.

The use of the ground floor of the buildings will be improved, connecting it to the piazzetta. A new barrier-free entrance to the underground garages will be created, as well as a new entrance for actors and theatre staff, and a multi-purpose space in the piazzetta's background for various cultural events. A public space with a café connected by a retractable glass wall to the piazzetta will be created on the ground floor of operational building B.

The glazing of the buildings is, according to architects, energetically inadequate due to the time of its creation; they therefore propose replacing the simple glazing of the New Stage foyer façade and the frame glazing on operational building B. The architects approach the solution of the New Stage foyer with respect, according to the ND management. According to ND, these are the architecturally most valuable spaces, where green Cuban serpentinite, a circular staircase with a chandelier, wooden coffered ceilings, and artistic decoration dominate. These spaces are to be rehabilitated to their original state with the restoration of materials and artworks.