During the renovation of the cultural house in Most, the builders are encountering unexpected obstacles

Most - The renovation of the Repre cultural house in the center of Most is ongoing. All demolition work has been completed, and experts are sanitizing the concrete structures. Builders are encountering unexpected obstacles. After the necessary asbestos removal, they have now discovered a sub-layer of fill. The city’s construction coordinator Matěj Benda told reporters today that he believes the work will be completed by the end of 2026. The costs are approximately one billion crowns.

The demolition work has ended. The sanitization of concrete structures and partially of steel structures is being completed. A roof will be laid on them. "There are many things complicating the work," Benda stated. "Additional surface sanitization is delaying us a lot," he said. In the first underground floor, there was supposed to be a gravel layer under the base. "But there is fill here. Tests were conducted to see how much it could bear. The load tests failed, so the designer is now working on a solution," he said. "It’s about money and time," Benda added.

The original deadline for completion was September 2026. The removal of asbestos increased the total cost of the work by 25 million crowns and the implementation period was extended by 120 days. The building, which was constructed by prisoners in the 1970s, is statically sound, but its execution is catastrophic according to experts. The construction was conducted quickly but unprofessionally, with inaccuracies in the concrete structures and even a bricked-up glove found.

The contractor began the largest contract in the city’s modern history a year ago. The library with an archive will move into Repre, taking up a significant part of the building, a new educational exhibition will be created, and the planetarium and the hall where balls were previously held will be preserved. It will be multifunctional, meaning it can also be used as a cinema. The hall will have a capacity of 800 people. There will be a restaurant on the ground floor. Escape exits must be built, which will require two new staircases, and the building will have 12 elevators.

The Repre cultural house is located in the center near the main street Budovatelů, right next to the town hall. The city sold the property in 2010 for 28 million crowns. An arbitration court declared the sales contract invalid in 2015 and identified Most as the rightful owner. A demolition order had been issued for the building in the past. Some residents of Most opposed the reconstruction of the building without announcing an architectural competition. The city leadership argued that there was no reason for an architectural competition because the appearance of the building would not change.