The telephone exchange in Dejvice will be replaced by a new building

Prague - The telephone exchange building in Prague's Dejvice near the Diplomat Hotel is set for partial demolition. An office building is planned to rise in its place. The owner intends to demolish a group of buildings from the same era, specifically from the 1970s to 1980s, on Vinohradská Street, and the Omnipol building on Nekázanka Street is undergoing reconstruction, which experts consider to be destructive. Owners of public buildings from the second half of the 20th century argue that they correspond to the time of their creation, and their operation is unacceptably costly. However, experts do not share a uniform opinion on buildings from this era; only a potential declaration as a cultural monument can save them.

Some buildings have been declared monuments after long discussions, such as the Prague department store Máj, while others have been refused protection by the state, allowing the owner to remove them. This is the case with the Liberec department store Ještěd, which originated from the same architectural studio SIAL as Máj.

The Ministry of Culture can grant heritage protection to buildings. However, according to some architecture and heritage care experts, it approaches the protection of constructions from 1945 to 1989 selectively. The office claims that it assesses buildings responsibly. Architectural historian Rostislav Švácha pointed out that since 2007, the ministry has not declared a single post-war building as a monument.

The automatic telephone exchange in Dejvice is the work of architects Jindřich Malátka, Jiří Eisenreich, Václav Aulický, and Jaromíra Eismannová from 1975 to 1982. It is notable for its technical design, which reflects the building's functional purpose. However, it belongs to buildings whose technical function has become exhausted. According to some experts, as well as the architecture, which many consider ugly, it deserves to be preserved as a document of the era. Švácha noted that the demolition of the exchange would deprive Prague architecture of an original, unique, and cleverly conceived structure by outstanding authors.

An office building called Telehouse is set to rise on the site of the exchange, complementing the newly constructed buildings in the area. Telehouse has obtained land use decision and building permit, and it is being prepared by bpd development, which has also built the Blox facility nearby. According to earlier media information, demolition work should begin in January and the new building should be completed by the end of 2018. Current information on the progress of the work could not be obtained by ČTK.

HB Reavis also has plans for demolition; it owns the Transgas building complex on Vinohradská and Římská Streets, built in the brutalist style. The plan is to build offices according to the design of architect Jakub Cigler. However, it is still uncertain whether they will be able to proceed, as the Ministry of Culture has been assessing since April whether the buildings should be declared monuments. "The proceedings have not been completed, and one cannot anticipate the duration or outcome," said Ministry spokesperson Simona Cigánková to ČTK.

If the proceedings have started, the owner must maintain the property as if it has already been declared a monument, meaning they cannot repair or remove it without the permission of conservationists. "We are waiting for the ministry's decision," said Jakub Verner on behalf of the company to ČTK.

The complex of buildings of the former Central Gas Dispatch Transgas and the Ministry of Fuels was created between 1966 and 1976 in a brutalist style. "It is an exceptional work of 1970s architecture in Czechia, reflecting the stylistic pluralism of the time," states the ministry's justification for initiating the proceedings for monument declaration.

The National Heritage Institute did not recommend the Transgas complex for protection. However, it expressed negative views on the large reconstruction of the Omnipol building on Nekázanka. The Ministry of Culture is currently deciding on the heritage protection of the Kotva department store, the Thermal hotel in Karlovy Vary, and the Libeň Bridge.