Topolánek: I am gradually getting used to the new library

Prague - Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek spent this morning touring the historic seat of the National Library (NL) in Prague’s Klementinum and the site where a new building for this institution should stand in Letná. The model and plans for the new structure were presented to him by its author, architect Jan Kaplický. "I am very conservative; if it were more classical, I wouldn't even say 'dust,'" the prime minister replied to journalists when asked how he liked the design.
    "But I am getting used to it, just like they got used to the Centre Pompidou in Paris," he added. As a trained mechanical engineer, he said he thinks in coordinates x, y, z. This is x plus something, y plus something, and z plus something; but I have fewer reservations about the building than at the beginning, he noted. "The only problem that I, as a politician, ask is whether we will have enough financial resources," he said.
    Funding for the construction of the new building, which is estimated to be around two billion crowns according to estimates before the competition was announced, is currently guaranteed by a government resolution from last June. It allocates funds for the library, as well as for the reconstruction of Klementinum and the National Museum, and support for several other state institutions, within the so-called national treasury. More than ten billion crowns should flow into it from the abolished National Property Fund and gradually from the state budget by 2014.
    Today, the director of NL, Vlastimil Ježek, officially handed Kaplický a confirmation of victory in the international architectural competition. Topolánek viewed, for example, vaults with rare prints and manuscripts, walked through the exhibition of all competition proposals for the new library, and received a commemorative medal from NL and a t-shirt with the winning design. He asked Kaplický for an autograph in his book.
    The competition results were announced in early March, and the winning proposal sparked many and controversial reactions. Besides lay opinions, some architects, the Czech Chamber of Architects, and other experts have objected to the conditions of the competition. The Chamber also filed a protest with the International Union of Architects (UIA). However, NL as the competition organiser insists on the transparency and regularity of the competition and points out that a representative of the UIA supervised the competition.
    The National Library aims to address spatial issues with the construction of its second building. The project has the support of both the government and the city of Prague.