To the proposal for the new construction of the Arigone hotel on Mahler Street in Olomouc

In recent days, proposals for the new building of the Arigone Hotel have been published, which is set to fill a long-standing gap in Mahlerova Street within the city’s heritage conservation area in Olomouc.

Architects from the Olomouc-based Studio Prak, who recently renovated a nearby apartment building for the Arigone Hotel, stated that they designed the new building so that “every passerby would know that the new building is not a historical object,” while also wanting to “incorporate the object into the historical environment." The appearance of the facade, which was criticized by the National Heritage Institute, was subsequently adjusted, but contentious elements in the internal layout remain (connections to neighboring buildings through burrowed passages in historical masonry, development of the courtyard in the gap, oversized excavated basement). The Department of Heritage Care of the City of Olomouc supports the new building, citing the alleged success of some renowned modernist constructions in historical environments (the pyramid in front of the Louvre).

The civic association For a Beautiful Olomouc appreciates that perhaps for the first time in the post-November period, the role of new construction in the gap in Olomouc's heritage conservation area is being addressed by a project that is different from purely utilitarian and aesthetically worthless designs (compare the parking garage on Koželužská Street, residential buildings on Uhelná and Hrnčířská Streets). However, it must be considered that in Olomouc’s historical core, with its small scale and dimensions, experiences from million-strong metropolises with entirely different urban contexts cannot simply be applied. Furthermore, in the Czech lands, where the historical architectural heritage of the last sixty years has been systematically devastated, every authentic detail is becoming rare, which justifies the experts from the National Heritage Institute as they seek to preserve original layouts, communications, volumes of built and unbuilt areas, and underground layers with potential archaeological value. It should also be emphasized that for the hotel function, which is not unwelcome in itself, the proposed destructive interventions are unnecessary.

The modernist facade is based on a mystical theory of “the spirit of the age,” expressed through supposedly unique and characteristic forms, which in reality means that fashionable details borrowed from iconic constructions of Western pop culture are being promoted at all costs. The supposedly compromise variant did not remove the boxy volume layout or the glass ground floor, and it also comes with an apartment building-like gray and white coloring, unprecedented in the historical surroundings. In this regard, it is a conceptual, predictable, and dangerous failure, particularly because the new building visually asserts itself in an incredibly refined and fragile neo-Baroque environment of the small square in front of the Chapel of St. John Sarkander, recently masterfully enhanced by a fountain from Otmar Oliva. This threatens to devalue the unique urban interior, as well as the Christian pilgrimage site in the open air, which is also exceptional from a functional perspective. The association For a Beautiful Olomouc therefore urges the investor to continue seeking the optimal form of the new building, preferably in the form of an architectural competition with limits precisely defined by the National Heritage Institute, and simultaneously calls on the relevant authorities to support the position of the expert heritage organization.

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