Open letter regarding the preservation of the administrative building of the former Military Construction Office

JIZERA INVEST s.r.o., Letenská 121/8, Malá Strana, 11800 Prague 1
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
Mayor of the Capital City of Prague
Council of the Capital City of Prague
Municipal Assembly of the Capital City of Prague
Commission of the Council of Prague for Design and Public Space
Mayor of Prague 2
Deputy Mayor for Environmental Affairs, Construction and Urban Development, and Heritage Care of Prague 2
Council of Prague 2 Municipal Assembly

Open Letter Concerning the Preservation of the Administration Building of the Former Military Construction No. 1881, Parcel No. 1456, Cadastre of New Town

Dear Sir/Madam,
We are addressing you regarding the ongoing proceedings for the demolition of building No. 1881, cadastre of New Town (the building of the former Military Construction). We would like to support the expert opinion of the National Heritage Institute (statement of NPÚ ÚOP PR No. NPU-311/42700/2021 dated June 9, 2021), which opposes the planned demolition, and we would like to once again emphasize the architectural qualities of the building and its cultural-historical value.
We believe that the building constitutes a valuable modern addition to the Prague heritage reserve and deserves to be preserved in its original form. The house was built at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s according to the design of architect Jan Hančl and his team from the Military Project Institute. The authors managed to sensitively connect the building with the surrounding historicist development while simultaneously creating a confident architecture
with a plastic, artistically composed facade (elegant outer skin with vertical sunshades, a rooftop extension made of anodized aluminum gradating through two acknowledged chimneys). An integral part of the building is also an art piece in the parterre – a relief by sculptor Jaroslav Bartoš. The work, illustrating an abstract organic language map of Prague and its urban and transport development, is excellently integrated into the structure, and without it and its libretto (legend), it would lose its value. The building was awarded second place in the Realization category within the national round of the Architectural Works Showcase for the period 1982-1983, and it was published several times shortly after its completion. It continues to receive professional attention even today.
As stated in NPÚ's opinion, "the subject building is preserved in its authentic form (height, mass, and external expression), without any significant modern interventions into the external shell" – we are convinced that precisely because of this fact, the building must be preserved and approached with the utmost sensitivity. The building is one of the few authentically preserved quality buildings of its time (at least in the Prague context). In this regard, it is necessary to point out that the architecture of the 1960s to the 1980s has unfortunately become something akin to an "endangered species" in recent years and decades, representing an irretrievably disappearing layer of our architectural culture. We can recall, for example, the now non-existent Vinohrady Transgas, Hotel Praha, the telephone exchange in Dejvice, the radically reconstructed building of the former International Union of Students, and many others. Prague is thus losing an entire chapter of the history of visual and architectural culture and the irreplaceable genius loci to which these typological buildings belong. The demolition of sound buildings is also very problematic in terms of ecology and sustainability.
We believe that it is high time to stop treating quality post-war architecture with disdain and to advocate for the preservation of what can still be saved – in this context, the building of the former Military Construction unequivocally deserves our attention.
For the reasons stated above, we therefore request the preservation of the building of the former Military Construction in its existing authentic form and support for public debate on this matter.

Thank you and best regards

Ing. arch. Mgr. Klára Brůhová, Ph.D. – architectural historian, member of the Czech section of DOCOMOMO International
MgA. Pavel Karous, Ph.D. – sculptor, author of the project "Intruders and Herons"
doc. PhDr. Richard Biegel, Ph.D. – architectural historian, director of the Institute of Art History FF UK, member of the Commission for the Protection of the Heritage Fund created in the second half of the 20th century at NPÚ, chairman of the Club For Old Prague
prof. PhDr. Rostislav Švácha, CSc. – architectural historian, member of the Commission for the Protection of the Heritage Fund created in the second half of the 20th century at NPÚ, vice-chairman of the Club For Old Prague
PhDr. Kateřina Bečková – historian, vice-chair of the Club For Old Prague
Mgr. Veronika Vicherková – art historian, member of the working group for post-war architecture of ČNK ICOMOS and the Club For Old Prague, member of the Commission for the Protection of the Heritage Fund created in the second half of the 20th century at NPÚ
prof. Ing. arch. Petr Vorlík, Ph.D. – architectural historian, coordinator of the Czech section of DOCOMOMO International and the working group for post-war architecture of ČNK ICOMOS, member of the Commission for the Protection of the Heritage Fund created in the second half of the 20th century at NPÚ
Mgr. Jan Zikmund, Ph.D. – architectural historian, member of the working group for post-war architecture of ČNK ICOMOS and the Czech section of DOCOMOMO International
Mgr. Lukáš Beran, Ph.D. – architectural historian, member of the Commission for the Protection of the Heritage Fund created in the second half of the 20th century at NPÚ
prof. PhDr Milena Bartlová, CSc. – art historian
Dr. des. Helena Huber-Doudová – curator of the Architecture Collection NGP
doc. Ing. arch. Radomíra Sedláková, CSc. – historian and theorist of architecture Mgr. Karolina Jirkalová – critic and architectural historian
Mgr. Veronika Rollová, Ph.D. – art historian, UMPRUM
Mgr. art. Lucia Mlynčeková – doctoral student in the History of Architecture and Heritage Care, FA ČVUT