The first concert in Kaplického Rejnok could be in 2014

České Budějovice - Architect Eva Jiřičná has begun working on the documentation for a concert hall designed in the shape of a ray by the late Jan Kaplický for České Budějovice. This was announced to journalists today by the chairman of the South Bohemian Society of Friends of Music, Antonín Kazil. The jubilee Ema Destinnová Music Festival could take place in the new concert hall in 2014. Up to a thousand listeners could attend the opening concert featuring the Berlin Philharmonic, Kazil said with slight exaggeration.
    "In June, the city council approved the necessary change to the zoning plan, and then we contractually secured land for the construction of the Ray in the Čtyři Dvory area. Over the summer, Eva Jiřičná began working on the documentation for the zoning decision, which we hope to obtain in the next half-year. Then we will begin fundraising, which we have been promised. After that, the project for the building permit and the execution documentation will follow," summarized Kazil. "If we manage to break ground in 2012, we will all be extremely happy," he added.
    Both the exterior and interior will be built according to Kaplický's design, while the details that were not covered in the study will be developed by Jiřičná according to Kazil. The size and shapes of the halls are determined. Kaplický also designed the stairs and chairs, including their colors. Jiřičná has already met with architects from Kaplický's former team.
    According to estimates, the construction cost should approach two billion crowns. It is expected to take at least two years. The project currently has no opponents. For instance, the city council discussed the zoning plan changes surprisingly smoothly. Thus, according to Kazil, the only ones who will bear the burden of the construction are likely to be the homeless who seek shelter in the abandoned barracks in Čtyři Dvory.
    Kazil does not hide the fact that the society has promised funding for the construction. He revealed today only that one of the donors could be the energy giant ČEZ. The society also counts on EU subsidies. Other sponsors wish to remain anonymous for now.
    For several years, the society has been striving for the construction of a dignified music sanctuary in the South Bohemian regional city. The city, with a population of 100,000, lacks a suitable concert hall that can host symphony orchestras at an appropriate level, not only acoustically. To date, it has been using the Metropol cultural house's hall from the 1970s, which was originally intended as a cinema. The Otakar Jeremiáš Concert Hall, which was created from the reconstruction of St. Anne's Church, can only host chamber concerts.
    Kaplický and his team Future Systems designed an original black object of organic shapes for Budějovice. The completed study is Kaplický's most worked-out piece in the country, but his sudden death last January temporarily froze further discussions. The proposed structure has a triangular footprint and occupies an area of almost 1.5 hectares.
    The Antonín Dvořák Congress Center is to have two concert halls for 1,000 and 400 listeners. They will be named after Ema Destinnová and Karel Ančerl and will accommodate a hundred-member symphony orchestra with a large choir. The project also includes a dance floor, a restaurant, a café, and small shops. Congress and commercial activities are intended to ensure a balanced operating budget, so that cultural events can be organized.