Architects praise Kaplický's library, but they do not like it in Letná

Prague - The new building of the National Library designed by Jan Kaplický should rather not be located in Letná, as revealed by today's survey by ČTK among architects. However, architects praise the design itself. Most city councilors from ODS are against the building being erected in Letná. The Civic Democratic Party has an absolute majority in the assembly. The city can block the construction.
    "I think that the National Library building in any form is not suitable for Letná," architect Martin Vokatý told ČTK. According to him, the area is too valuable and exposed for a building, the function of which he is unsure will remain the same due to modern technologies as it has for the past hundred years. It will not bring enough life to Letná, Vokatý said, co-author of the Sazka hall in Libeň. However, he likes Kaplický's design.
    According to architect Vlada Milunić, co-author of the Dancing House, it is reasonable to have a building by Kaplický in Prague. "However, the location is not suitable," Milunić told ČTK. He believes it is far from university faculties and poorly accessible from the subway. The panorama of Hradčany would not be harmed by the building, he added.
    Architect and teacher at the Prague AAAD Jindřich Smetana also thinks that Jan Kaplický should have a building in Prague. However, according to him, the competition for the location was poorly organized, lacking an urban study which is still lacking.
    "In the case of a personality like Kaplický, it would not be a bad idea - and most of the architectural community would respect it - for the mayor to commission him 'out of hand', just as enlightened rulers did, for example, regarding the commission for Petr Parléř," Smetana told ČTK. The competition is, however, necessary according to current laws and in light of the anticipated costs.
    Smetana would like to see Kaplický in some kind of council, which would seek a way out of the current situation, as a large part of Prague's councilors express their disapproval of the library in its currently proposed form. "I would make him a key figure in the council, but as a figure, not as an author," he said. According to the architect, it is impossible to relocate the National Library building to the periphery, as some councilors propose, including the chief conservator of the National Heritage Institute, Josef Štulc.
    Discussions are taking place not only about the intended design of the library but also about the location where the building should stand. Although Prague voted almost unanimously last year for a new library building in Letná, the later winning design was not yet known then. According to most experts consulted, the problems stem from the fact that there was no urban study for Letná before the competition. It would address not only the library, which is set to be built on a plot reserved for cultural buildings in the urban plan for a long time, but also other intended buildings in the plain. The plot for the library is outside the actual Letná Plain.
    The construction of a new library building is estimated to cost around two billion crowns according to official data. People involved in budgeting similar constructions consulted by ČTK believe it would be more expensive. The National Technical Library currently under construction in Prague 6 is expected to cost 2.1 billion. It has been under construction for a year and is set to be operational in two years.