Kaplický is prepared to turn to the court over the library issue

Prague - Architect Jan Kaplický, who has been attending another meeting of the National Library team since this morning, admitted upon arriving at today's meeting that he is prepared to turn to the court regarding the planned construction of the new library building. He responded to reporters' questions about what he would do if the building were not built according to his design. "I would file a lawsuit, but to the international court, not to Czech courts," said Kaplický.
    Even winning the international architectural competition, which was announced for the design of the new National Library building in 2006, does not guarantee that the winning design will be realized. Kaplický won the competition a year ago, but disputes over the potential construction have been ongoing since then. These disputes culminated last October in the formation of the National Library team, which includes representatives from Prague and the state alongside the architect. After four months of negotiations, the team announced the end of its talks and the announcement of its results for today. However, last week the Ministry of Culture submitted a proposal to the Office for the Protection of Competition to assess whether, based on the results of the architectural competition, a public contract for the construction of the library can be awarded. According to some information, the team will not decide today whether the library will stand in Letná according to Kaplický's design, and the team members will wait for the decision of the antimonopoly office.