UNESCO did not criticize its new building according to Penta

Prague - The Czech National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is misinterpreting the conclusion of the joint UNESCO and ICOMOS mission, according to the Penta Investment company. Ivo Mravinac, spokesman for Penta, said this to ČTK today. However, Jan Štoll, spokesman for the Czech committee of ICOMOS, rejected this. In recent days, the council criticized Prague for the planned development in the Masaryk railway station area, which is being prepared by Penta, claiming it does not comply with the commitments that the city has under international heritage protection treaties. ICOMOS stated that the UNESCO mission criticized the shape of the development plans for the station area, but according to Penta, the commissioners only mentioned part of the project.

Referring to the report, Penta stated that the mission "agreed with the opinion of the city council that the scale and form of the proposed development on the southern side of Na Florenci street are fundamentally appropriate, including a strong emphasis at the western end". "Therefore, there were no objections to the future construction along Na Florenci street, which has obtained a zoning decision, but only to the Karlín section of the study, which, however, does not constitute a specific project," said Penta's spokesperson Ivo Mravinac today to ČTK.

According to him, Penta will announce an international architectural competition for the Karlín section. "In agreement with the city council, Penta confirmed the commitment to build apartments on 40 percent of the total built-up area," he stated.

Penta Investment has been planning an administrative complex in the station area for many years. For the first phase of the construction designed by Zaha Hadid, it obtained a zoning decision on April 17, which became legally binding on May 7. A few days earlier, Prague city councilors approved a memorandum with the developer, in which Prague committed not to appeal the zoning decision. The Club for Old Prague criticized this decision. Subsequently, the Czech committee of ICOMOS stated that the approval of the Prague heritage officials for the new construction, which is necessary for issuing the zoning decision, lacks a statement regarding the recommendation from the UNESCO monitoring mission from 2019.

According to ICOMOS, the decision was not issued in accordance with the Principles of Spatial Development, legal regulations, and ordinances, and is accompanied by non-standard circumstances. The UNESCO and ICOMOS monitoring mission in Prague addressed areas that experts consider problematic in terms of cultural heritage protection. Regarding the first phase of construction in the Masaryk railway station area, it stated that the height and termination of its western emphasis need to be carefully considered. A year earlier, the Ministry of Culture recommended reducing the proposed building heights to a maximum of six above-ground floors.

Jan Štoll, spokesman for the Czech committee of ICOMOS, today rejected to ČTK that the institution misinterpreted the report. "The report states that it is desirable to supplement the southern side of Na Florenci street with new construction so that the Florentina building, which it refers to as kitsch, integrates into the urban structure," the spokesman said. "The proposed scale and form of the Zaha Hadid studio's design in this area is considered appropriate on the condition that its height and termination will be carefully considered. Reports from missions are always written in diplomatic language, and words like to consider or we recommend must be taken very seriously," states the Czech branch of ICOMOS.

"They are trying to challenge the favorable opinion of the heritage conservation department of the city council. Meanwhile, the Zaha Hadid project had to be significantly modified for us to obtain it. ICOMOS is completely detached from the real world, among developers, it is notorious for issuing only negative statements about anything that is not a century old. Manipulative judgments are only possible because it bears no real responsibility for the development of the city," added Mravinac.