Svoboda: The building of the Federal Assembly could be demolished

Prague - The Mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS), has admitted the possibility of a significant architectural intervention in the building of the former Federal Assembly. According to him, it is possible to consider the demolition of the modern building to reveal the commodity exchange that is hidden within the structure. He described this as one of the potential options for the future development of the upper part of Wenceslas Square. He said this at today's Žofín Forum titled Vision for Prague 2010 - 2014.
    The building currently belongs to the National Museum. The extension, designed by the prominent architect Karel Prager, is considered a highly successful work in professional circles and the Ministry of Culture has declared the building a cultural monument. In a 2004 poll conducted by the magazine Architekt, it was listed among the ten most significant Czech buildings of the last fifty years.
    "It is possible to consider that the Federal Assembly, which has the wonderful commodity exchange hidden within it, may not be there," Svoboda said. "It would be possible to remove what is around it," he added. Its demolition could, according to him, uncover the building of the commodity exchange. He added that he mentioned this option as evidence of various considerations regarding the reconstruction of Wenceslas Square that are currently on the table.
    According to architect Zdeněk Lukeš, the reconstruction and completion of the former commodity exchange is itself a very interesting architectural and technical work. He pointed out that the building is protected as a monument and serves as support for the National Museum and the State Opera. "The idea of demolishing the extension seems completely absurd to me, especially since the original state from the First Republic can no longer be restored anyway, because part of the whole complex included a house that was demolished at the end of the 60s," Lukeš told ČTK. "Such an idea can only come from some ultra-conservative architects or someone is bothered that it is a building from the communist era," Lukeš added.
    The demolition of the Federal Assembly is, according to the mayor, a consideration by a group of architects. "It's a consideration we've talked about quite loosely with, for example, the Ministry of Culture," he added. Which option for modifying the area around Wenceslas Square will be chosen depends on the decision of experts, Svoboda emphasized, noting that he currently does not lean toward any of the options.
    He also stated that Prague should open itself to modern architecture. "We must realize that a city built solely on its historical core and not allowed to develop further will become a dead city. We must also let modern architecture in," he remarked. At the forum, he also defended Žižkov Railway Station and its declaration as a cultural monument. According to him, the city will not allow anything that can be perceived as a historical monument to be destroyed.
    The building of the former Federal Assembly was constructed during the First Republic as the seat of the exchange; after 1948, it housed the Federal Assembly, the then Czechoslovak parliament, and in 1995, Radio Free Europe moved into the building. To the original three-story structure, a fourth and fifth floor were added in the late 1960s according to the design of architect Karel Prager, which is supported on beams and protrudes into space. The building is now used by the National Museum, which wants to connect it with the adjacent main building via an underground tunnel.
    According to the director of the National Museum, Michal Lukeš, the use of the building is a fundamental prerequisite for the necessary reconstruction of the historic National Museum building. "The new building of the National Museum has its passionate supporters and opponents, and that is also one of the reasons why we opened a thematic exhibition 'A City Above a City' last week in its premises, which is dedicated to the circumstances surrounding the creation of its current form, as well as generally to the work of architect Karel Prager," Lukeš stated. According to him, the aim of the exhibition was also to open a discussion. "We are glad that our intention succeeded," he added.