The National Library will lose Kaplický's project two years after the competition

Prague - Two years ago, architect Jan Kaplický, who became famous in Britain, first introduced himself to the Czech public. He won an international competition for the construction of a new building for the National Library (NK), and his design divided Czech society into enthusiastic supporters and staunch opponents. Two years will have passed since the announcement of the results on March 2. The initial enthusiasm of the jury members for the winning design has been completely overturned by political contexts; according to Kaplický, the library probably won't be built, and the architect is deceased.
The competition rules stipulated that project documentation must begin preparation within two years of the announcement of results. Otherwise, the project reverts back to the author, who is entitled to another payment corresponding to the first place award. Kaplický's Studio Future Systems should receive 160,000 euros (currently about 4.6 million crowns) from the NK, or rather from the state. The NK will no longer own the design which they could have built upon.
If the author had kept the design for the library even after the two-year deadline, discussions about the construction could have continued. According to information from ČTK, this is what Kaplický intended. However, there have been no new opinions from the relevant institutions that would support the construction. Mainly, the library hasn't received land from the city.
Who exactly will become the owner of the design and receive the mentioned funds is still unclear. The NK is currently assessing the situation from a legal standpoint that arose in the studio after Jan Kaplický's death, said NK director Pavel Hazuka to ČTK.
Last year, Kaplický reached an agreement with his former wife Amanda Levete on the division of the studio they had previously owned together. Each of them reportedly retains the projects they worked on independently. The Future Systems brand belongs to the architect's widow Eliška, but Levete dismissed the architects who worked for Kaplický, including those on the National Library project, after Kaplický's sudden death.
Levete does not wish to continue with Kaplický's projects, which were created after they separated professionally. Therefore, she contacted the clients to whom the projects belonged and offered them. However, at the moment, there is no one to take over the documentation for the National Library, as there is no will to build the library in the Czech Republic.
The competition for the library, which was the first architectural competition in the Czech Republic held according to the rules of the International Union of Architects, has been accompanied by disputes regarding its legitimacy since the announcement of results. These disputes have been cited by both experts and politicians, who searched for arguments for their refusals.
The National Library, however, continues to point out its inadequate facilities - primarily for this reason it wanted to build a new building. It is focusing on expanding the repository in Hostivař and on the revitalization of Klementinum. "We will have to expand the repository more than we planned. But primarily due to the greater space for the digitization of documents, which relates to our commitments to the European Digital Library," Hazuka told ČTK.
According to him, Hostivař does not solve the services that must be accessible to the public - as is the case in Klementinum and as the NK planned in the new building in Letná. And the repository would still be built even if a new building were erected, says Hazuka.
According to the government, the priority in addressing NK's situation is the renovation of Klementinum, but the resolution of the former government of Jiří Paroubek from 2006 regarding the construction of a new NK building still stands. Whether the current NK director, who previously worked at the Ministry of Culture, will decide to seek a path to a new building remains unclear. His predecessor Vlastimil Ježek reportedly suffered due to a poorly prepared competition.