Chief of Heritage Conservation: The villa in Petřiny is not a monument, but it is valuable

Prague - The functionalist villa by architect Pavel Simonov in the Petřiny district of Prague is not located in a listed heritage zone and is not declared a cultural monument, therefore objections against its demolition cannot be raised under the heritage conservation law. However, it is a villa of significant architectural value, and its preservation would be desirable. Jiří Skalický, the head of Prague's heritage officials, stated this in an interview with ČTK. The demolition permit for the villa was issued by Prague 6, and a new building is set to rise on the site.

The apartment villa by architect Pavel Simonov is located at Na Petřinách 1482/7. "This is the original villa from 1939, which has significant architectural value, and despite unsatisfactory technical and energy parameters, from the perspective of preserving cultural heritage, it would be desirable to maintain the villa in its existing form," Skalický remarked.

The functionalist building is to be replaced by a four-story new construction. Local residents disagree and are signing a petition urging politicians to save the villa. The planned modern development is said to be oversized and unsuitable for the local building environment.

Last year, Prague 6 approved the demolition of parts of two functionalist villas in Baba known as Čeňková and Košťálova villa. In the past, two villas also fell in old Střešovice and Ořechovka. One of them belonged to the well-known fashion designer Blanka Matragi. The original villa, which stood in the heritage zone, was demolished without permission by the company Matragi Design in December 2013. The company had only been permitted to renovate the house. For this, it received a fine of 150,000 crowns from the city hall, which was eventually revoked by the magistrate.