It Won’t Be Possible to Miss the National Library (Portal of Prague)

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?

Some preservationists are for

Surprisingly, the biggest protectors of old Prague – Klub za starou Prahu (the Club for Old Prague) did not criticize the project. The chairperson of the club, Kateřina Bečková, announced right after the publication of the winning proposal, that the Club will definitely not stand against the project: “It is a very interesting design that has taken me by surprise, but I do not think it will do any harm to Prague.“ Ondřej Ševčů, a true expert from the National Monument Institute, expressed a similar opinion. He considers the proposal as a very beneficial piece of work.

Kaplicky lives and works in Great Britain. He recollected that in 1955 he was not accepted to study at Technical University in Prague on grounds of being an unsatisfactory student. Therefore the winnings also comes to him as some kind of satisfaction.

The building of the National Library is intended for ten million books. Most of it is underground. Kaplicky himself said that the lay-out of the building is very important. It has to suit the operation requirements as well as the visitors so that it can change this institution into a living part of the city.

The estimated cost of the new building is two milliard CZK. Zdeněk Lukeš, an architectural historian and a critic was also present at the unveiling of the winning proposal. He said that Kaplicky’s project is a world-class piece of work that will be a pride of Prague the same way as the Opera in Sydney.

The National Library is preparing an exhibition where the public will have the opportunity to judge all eight proposals that got into the finals.

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