Plzeňský kraj has a study for the reconstruction of the decaying city baths in Plzeň

Plzeň – The Plzeň region has received an architectural study for the adaptation and renovation of the dilapidated city baths in Plzeň. The listed building from 1931 was purchased last October for 120 million CZK. In the coming weeks, an exhibition will be organized to present the study with visualizations prepared by a team from the Prague studio of Eva Heyworth. Next year, a tender for the contractor for the reconstruction could be announced, said the regional governor Rudolf Špoták (Pirates) to CTK today. The estimated costs are between 1.5 to 2 billion CZK.

"We will see if we manage to sign a contract with the contractor by the end of next year. The latest date we would start building would be spring 2025," he said. If the selection of the contractor is successful on the first attempt without appeals from unsuccessful bidders, the region is expected to sign the contract as early as autumn 2024, according to the governor. For the renovation of the baths, the region has chosen the Design & Build method - the winning contractor will therefore both design and build.

The demolition of the former boiler room's rear annex should begin this winter. "The tender for the demolition will end this October," the governor mentioned. According to the councilor for the economy Pavel Strolený (ANO), the region has prepared 100 million CZK for the baths this year, and the same amount is expected in the budget for next year. "So that the preparatory and demolition work can be carried out. If it looks like construction could start next year, then I believe there will be a willingness (to approve additional funds)," he stated.

In the study recently received by the region, the reconstruction costs are not specified. "All floors and layouts are sketched out, showing how the individual parts of the building could look," Strolený said. After consulting with conservationists, the region will present the proposals to the public at an exhibition in October or November.

The region is still working with total reconstruction costs estimated at 1.5 to 2 billion CZK. "But we will see what the bidding yields," Špoták said. According to Strolený, there are preliminary funding promises; the region aims to use grant titles from the Ministry of Culture and possibly from the EU for ecological and energy-efficient construction. "For now, we anticipate that the 1.5 to 2 billion will have to be covered by the region," he added.

In the baths, which have been neglected for 30 years, the region aims to establish a multicultural center. The West Bohemia Gallery will primarily be there, along with a hall, clubs, and offices for regional and non-profit organizations. Many architects are unhappy that the region did not announce an architectural competition for the baths, meaning that the study for one of the largest constructions was directly entrusted to Heyworth. The Design & Build method, which the region considers the most efficient, is also said to be used more for linear constructions where user and technical parameters are already precisely definable. The previous leadership of the region, mainly from the ODS and TOP 09, had been preparing a new construction of the regional gallery in the center of Plzeň since 2005, which has a building permit. However, the current leadership of the region does not wish to construct it.