The New Building of the National Library (Portal of Prague)

The New Building of the National Library

The design that won the architectural competition which was supposed to choose a building for the National Library in the CR shocked the public to some extent. The jury, consisting not only of the Library’s and Prague’s representatives but also the UNESCO representatives, was, however, thrilled.

British architectural studio Futur Systéme, headed by the Czech architect Jan Kaplicky, designed an unusually shaped building. The project was selected by the jury from four hundred proposals from all over the world. Kaplicky said that there are many things that inspire his work. As for the Library, he was inspired by a bunker, the colour of champagne, the human body and many other things.

The shape of the building is so shocking that many people immediately raised their voices bringing up the question of monument preservation of the city. Kaplicky himself swept off these objections by a rough denouncement of a building that really defaces the beauty of Prague: How can we talk about monument preservation when the hotel Four Seasons, looking like a Canadian barn, was build here, 150 metres from Charles Bridge, without any objections?

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Celkový počet: 4

19. 6. 2008 The Story of a Hebrew Censor and Clementinian Librarian
Karel Fischer unfortunately belongs to those few important, but little known figures of Czech history. The coming exhibition at the National Library aims to change this.
19. 6. 2008 It Won’t Be Possible to Miss the National Library
The design that won the architectural competition which was supposed to choose a building for the National Library in the CR shocked the public to some extent. The jury, consisting not only of the Library’s and Prague’s representatives but also the UNESCO representatives, was, however, thrilled.
19. 6. 2008 Architect Kaplický Spoke about the Library to the City Council
Jan Kaplický said that he did not defend his project when speaking to the City Council, he only gave explanations.
19. 6. 2008 The Construction of the National Library in Letna Will Affect the Municipal Plan
The construction of the new building of the National Library in Letna will require changes in the municipal plan. The Municipality of Prague intends to sell the land for the library with an area of almost 12,000 m² for 31.5 million CZK. Its actual price is twice as big.

Celkový počet: 4

31. January 2010
31. January 2010

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