KRNAP – Bc. Radek Drahný, spokesperson

Introduction AUTHORS - Martin Rajniš, Patrik Hoffman / H.R.A. architects SUPPLIER - Ing. Miloslav Klimeš / Construction & Engineering Company Klimeš INVESTOR - Jaroslava Skrbková KRNAP - Bc. Radek Drahný, press spokesman MAYOR of Pec pod Sněžkou - Alan Tomášek

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The most challenging part was finding common ground. It is necessary to view the problem from the very beginning: The peak of Sněžka lies in the 1st zone of the Krkonošsko National Park, which is the most strictly protected area. From a biologist's perspective, this place holds a significance akin to that of the tomb of Czech kings in St. Vitus Cathedral for a historian. It is indeed a highly protected area, and the construction there generated great emotions. One extreme opinion stated that the summit of Sněžka should remain free of any buildings, which corresponds to the ecological significance of the location. Conversely, our partner, the town of Pec pod Sněžkou, advocated for new construction at the summit, arguing primarily that there had been buildings there in recent decades.
When I speak of common ground, let's realize that the previous Czech cottage was owned by the town of Pec pod Sněžkou, the land belongs to the state - managed by the KRNAP Administration, the old post office is owned by Mrs. Skrbková, who is also the investor of the new Czech post office... Therefore, talks were conducted trilaterally.
After the ruins of the Czech cottage were removed from Sněžka and it began to be discussed that a new structure should rise on the mountain, we were presented with the sole proposal from architects Rajniš and Hoffman. The KRNAP Administration was firmly against proceeding in this way. This was absolutely unacceptable to us. Therefore, at our initiative, a closed competition was established, during which the investor, the town, and KRNAP agreed to address three renowned Czech studios.* They submitted very interesting studies. A commission composed of experts in the field of architecture** evaluated them and selected the study entitled Anežka from the Rajniš and Hoffman studio as the best. The fact that the study from the H.R.A. studio won again might raise doubts for some about whether the competition was meaningful at all. However, we believe that for such a significant place as the peak of our highest mountain undoubtedly is, one cannot proceed with only a single variant. The proposals were evaluated by a professional commission, and the project that will ultimately be realized is, in some respects, slightly smaller and conceptually somewhat different than the original. None of the KRNAP Administration staff are renowned architects, opinions within our institution understandably varied, and therefore it was crucial for us to have the proposal assessed by architectural experts. We certainly agreed that there cannot be a structure on Sněžka that would in any way harm nature.

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* - editorial note: the teams invited were Martin Rajniš, Patrik Hoffman (the H.R.A. architectural association), Petr Hájek, Tomáš Hradečný, Jan Šépka (HŠH architects), and Václav Hlaváček, Jana Strachotová, Michal Mihalčík, Tomáš Havlíček (Studio ACHT)

** - editorial note: the expert opponents were Jiří Plos, director of the ČKA office, prof. Emil Přikryl, head of the architecture school at Prague's AVU, and architect and actor David Vávra.