The organizers of the European Architectural Award criticized the condition of Prague's embankments

Prague - Prague's mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) and city councilors are the recipients of a critical letter from the Barcelona-based Mies van der Rohe Foundation. The foundation, which awards the European architectural prize named after the German architect, pointed out the state and neglected maintenance of the Prague riverfronts. Revitalization of the riverfronts with glazed entrances to the waterfront cellars using glass lenses designed by architect Petr Janda and the studio Projektil Architekti made it to the shortlist of European projects in 2022. This is stated in a letter that the foundation's director Ivan Blasi addressed to the city leadership on Monday, which is available to ČTK. Prague councilor Adam Zábranský (Pirates) stated that he will investigate the maintenance level of the riverfronts.

This year, the foundation’s organizers visited an exhibition on the most recently awarded Mies van der Rohe Prize for 2024 at the Prague Center for Architecture and Urban Planning. However, they were taken aback by the state of the riverfronts, one of the previously valued competition projects. Blasi mentioned signs of neglected maintenance of the riverfronts and their cellars in the letter.

"These include damage to steel doors and structures, scratched glass panels, leaking cellars that flood during rains, increased visual clutter, and a general lack of order and care in the public space. Such neglect endangers not only the physical condition of the site but also the very spirit and values that earned it recognition at both national and international levels," wrote Blasi. He expressed hope that Prague would rectify the condition of the riverfronts.

The city councilor responsible for property, Zábranský, indicated that he would investigate the maintenance of the riverfronts. "I will request data on how the costs of maintaining the riverfronts have changed in recent years, and whether it is indeed true that the level of maintenance is decreasing. If it turns out that this is the case, I will try to advocate for restoring the funding to its original level. However, it would be nice if such letters were accompanied by photographs to make it clear what has changed according to them and what they find problematic," the councilor told ČTK.

The neglected maintenance was also pointed out in June by one of the project’s authors, architect Janda. According to him, the problem has persisted since 2019. The revitalization of the riverfronts with glazed cellars using large lenses was pushed through by former mayor Adriana Krnáčová (previously ANO), and completed by the previous city leadership headed by Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates).

"It’s all absurd. The riverfront serves Prague greatly not only as architecture but also from a cultural perspective. However, even that is turning into fast-moving gastronomy and everything is declining," Janda told ČTK.

According to him, an example is the unsealed passages into the cellars, which the management company has known about since 2022 but has yet to resolve. Thus, last year, when the Vltava River level rose, the cellars were protected by flood barriers, but water still flowed in from below, the architect added.

The topic was proposed for the agenda of the council meeting in June by Patrik Nacher, Ondřej Prokop (both ANO), and Adam Scheinherr (Prague itself), but they were unsuccessful. They aimed to respond to the councilors' decision to change the project, which was supposed to involve primarily the expansion of the toilets. The councilors voted in mid-June that the remaining work would not be carried out according to the original architectural design, citing rising costs as justification.