New concert halls are being prepared not only in Prague but also in Brno and Ostrava

Prague - A selection of information about the Vltava Philharmonic and new concert halls in the Czech Republic (Prague councillors today approved the establishment of investment actions for the planned construction of the Vltava Philharmonic near the C metro station Vltavská):

- The Vltava Philharmonic is set to be built near the Vltavská metro station according to the design by the Danish studio Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which won an international competition in May 2022. According to September information from city leadership representatives and architects, experts are currently working on creating technical documentation, and this autumn the city hopes to apply for a building permit. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed five years later. The project, along with related modifications to the surroundings, will cost Prague 16.53 billion crowns excluding VAT, while the construction of the philharmonic itself is estimated at 11.65 billion.

- The construction of a new cultural center by the Vltava River, which will house the Czech Philharmonic and the Symphony Orchestra of the City of Prague FOK, is part of the transformation of the Bubny-Zátory locality. Both orchestras will find residential spaces and facilities for their educational programs for the public there. The building will also feature a music department and a creative hub of the City Library in Prague. The Vltava Philharmonic is expected to have three halls - one large concert hall for approximately 1800 seated people, a second chamber hall with 500 seating and standing places, and a third multifunctional hall that will accommodate 620 seated or 1200 standing people.

- The philharmonic will have three underground and six above-ground floors. According to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) document, the whole project will also include several other buildings, such as tunnels ensuring traffic connections to the complex, modifications of the Vltava waterfront, changes in the transport infrastructure such as tram line relocations, or the construction of new intersections and a new metro vestibule.

- Last October, officials from the Environmental Protection Department of the Prague City Hall determined that the planned philharmonic building must undergo EIA. The City, as the investor, now needs to provide complete documentation for assessing the impact of the construction on the environment, climate, and the lives of residents. According to the published document, it should include, among other things, an overview of the considered project variants, evaluation of traffic in the surroundings, and descriptions and proposals to minimize the impact on air quality, noise levels, and lighting.

- The Vltava Philharmonic is one of three similar buildings being planned in the Czech Republic. At the end of February, the foundation stone of the Janáček Cultural Center was laid in Brno, which is to be built at the corner of Veselá and Besední Streets. A six-story building is to be created, which will include a hall for 1200 listeners and facilities for the Brno Philharmonic. It will have dressing rooms, storage rooms, rehearsal rooms, and space for technology. The construction works include a connection with the nearby Besední House.

- The preparation for the Brno project, costing around 2.3 billion crowns excluding VAT, has dragged on for many years. Current city representatives previously faced criticism from opposition representatives and cultural figures for delaying the construction of the concert hall. Brno repeatedly faced challenges from the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), which only decided last June that the contracting authorities had not acted contrary to the Public Procurement Act.

- In August, Mayor Markéta Vaňková and Chairman of the Board of Brno Communications David Grund (both ODS) signed a contract with the contractor, which is a consortium of OHLA ŽS, Strabag Earth and Civil Engineering, and Unistav Construction. The Ministry of Culture will contribute 600 million crowns to finance the building, which is to be completed within three years; Brno Communications will contribute 332 million, and the South Moravian Region will provide 100 million crowns. The rest will be covered by the city from its budget.

- Additionally, a new concert hall is being built in Ostrava, where the foundation stone was laid in mid-July last year. At the end of June, the councillors decided to accept a loan of two billion crowns from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which will cover a large part of the costs. The construction of the new concert hall, associated with the reconstruction of the House of Culture of the City of Ostrava, is expected to last until 2027. This year, the digging of the construction pit should be completed.

- The costs for the Ostrava building are approximately 2.8 billion crowns, and the entire project is expected to amount to about four billion crowns. The city has been saving money for the concert hall in a special fund, which currently has 600 million crowns. In addition to the two billion loan from the EIB for construction, there will be a non-repayable financial grant from the European Commission of half a billion crowns, which is specifically tied to the concert hall. Another 300 million crowns is expected to be contributed by the Moravian-Silesian Region and 600 million crowns by the state.

- The design of the concert hall in Ostrava was presented in July 2019 when the results of the largest architectural competition in the modern history of the city were announced. The authors of the winning proposal are the studios Steven Holl Architects from New York and Architecture Acts from Prague. In 2021, the American magazine Architizer ranked the project among the ten most anticipated buildings in the world. The new complex will be used as a music, cultural, production, or educational facility and will also be the home of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.

- The concert hall is expected to have 1300 seats. The project also includes, among other facilities, a theater hall with a capacity of 490 seats, a chamber multifunctional hall with 515 seats, a lecture multifunctional hall with 120 seats, and an educational center with 200 seats. The complex is also expected to feature a recording studio, restaurant, café, and other spaces. The city tried to build a new hall six times in the past, first in the 1860s and most recently in 1969.

- Since 1989, only a few new cultural buildings have been created in the Czech Republic. In September 2010, for example, the Congress Center building opened in Zlín, designed by architect Eva Jiřičná, a native of Zlín, and where the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic found its new home. The city also uses it for organizing cultural or social events. Since 2014, the New Theatre in Plzeň has been operating, the first major multi-ensemble theater scene that was opened in the Czech Republic after 1989.

- Conversely, the project of Jan Kaplický, the Congress Center of Antonín Dvořák in České Budějovice, nicknamed after the shape of a manta ray, did not reach realization. The building, estimated to cost two billion crowns, was halted in 2014 by city councillors due to uncertainties surrounding the investor. Plans for the construction of another Kaplický project, the new building of the National Library in Prague, which was called the octopus because of its shape, also fell through. Although the proposal won a competition in 2007, it lost political support after the then-president Václav Klaus expressed opposition to it.