Officials suspended the zoning proceedings for Havel's library

Prague - The building authority of Prague 1 has suspended the zoning proceedings for the reconstruction of the building at the Hradčany Loretánské Square, which is to become the library of former president Václav Havel. The reason is insufficient documentation for the placement of air conditioning on the roof of the building, said Prague 1 spokesperson Veronika Blažková to ČTK. The builder now has time until the end of the year to revise the project. The financier Zdeněk Bakala intends to convert the building for library purposes.
    "The Department of Construction of Prague 1 urged the builder to adjust the project documentation regarding the reengineering of the air conditioning on the roof," stated Blažková, adding that the office is now waiting for the submission of the revised project. The reason is the disagreement of preservationists with the ventilators that are to be placed on the building.
    According to a decision published on the bulletin board of Prague 1, the building authority found that the request does not sufficiently "demonstrate compliance of the construction documentation with the binding opinion" of the preservationists.
    "It happens, nothing unusual is going on. We want detailed documentation," commented the decision by Jan Kněžínek, head of the municipal preservationists. Once the documentation is received by the preservationists, they will assess, according to Kněžínek, how compliant it is with the conditions they have set.
    Mladá fronta Dnes recently reported that the company TaK Architects s.r.o., which represents Bakala in the preparation of the reconstruction, submitted different documentation to the preservationists and different to the building authority. In the version for the preservationists, the air conditioning was allegedly not shown on the roof of the building. Representatives of the company vehemently denied this. According to the newspaper, the preservationists ultimately confirmed that the ventilators were indeed depicted in the plans.
    The Václav Havel Library as an institution has existed since 2004, but it still does not have its own headquarters. Billionaire Bakala purchased the building U Drahomířina sloupu in the middle of last year.
    The project for the reconstruction of the palace, originally from the late 16th century, was prepared by the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. The library is expected to occupy about a third of the building's area, with another part potentially serving as Havel's office, as well as the headquarters for some non-governmental organizations. Bakala estimated the cost of the reconstruction at approximately 200 million crowns.