Architects and the opposition have called on the leadership of Prague not to change the embankment project

Prague – About 250 architects have supported an open letter calling for the city to reconsider its decision to abandon the original concept for the revitalization of the embankments, as initiated by architect Petr Janda and the opposition in the Prague city council. Janda and opposition representatives shared this with reporters today. According to the municipal company Trade Centre Prague (TCP), which manages the embankments, the dispute concerns the reconstruction of toilets, which was estimated at 36 million crowns according to the original project, and the company wants to build them more cheaply.

Most of the work on the revitalization of the embankments has already been completed, with only the reconstruction of the last so-called cell in the embankment wall, where public toilets are located, remaining. In June of this year, the council decided that the remaining work would not be carried out according to Janda's original proposal or by the studio Projektil Architekti, partly because the entire project has significantly increased in cost and the expenses for maintaining the cells fitted with glass revolving doors in the shape of lenses are also high.

The decision has not pleased Janda, the author of the internationally acclaimed embankment modifications, nor the Prague opposition. The architect stated today that the company for the reconstruction of the last cell and WC was contracted in 2018 at a price between 12 and 14 million, but TCP never handed over the construction site for no apparent reason, and years of delays have led to a price increase to the current 30 million crowns excluding VAT. According to him, TCP has been unable to provide electricity for some of the cells that have already been repaired for years, so they still do not work.

Janda also advocates for river baths, which were part of the concept but were not included in the original contract for the reconstruction. "Completing the prepared projects, including the baths on the Vltava River, is an opportunity to elevate Prague among the leaders of European cities. Stopping would be a step backward," he stated. He added that managing the embankments under TCP is also problematic.

The completion of the revitalization according to Janda's project has also been supported by 250 architects and public space experts who signed an open letter addressed to the city leadership. Among them are Jakub Cígler, Pavel Hnilička, Ladislav Lábus, Petr Hájek, foreign architects Robert Konieczny, Kazunori Fujimoto, and Enrico Molteni, as well as rectors and deans of architectural faculties and other experts.

TCP, in a statement, rejected claims that it neglects the management of the embankments. According to the company, the toilets have become the last straw in the financial demands of the revitalization of the embankments. Just the maintenance of the lenses on the cells, according to the company's statement, costs hundreds of thousands of crowns annually. "We definitely do not want to devalue the work done on the revitalization of the embankments; however, based on the contractual agreement under which we have managed the embankments for over a decade, we act with the care of a prudent manager," stated TCP board member Marta Pražáková.

Regarding the repaired but still inaccessible cells, the delay, according to TCP spokesman Ondřej Šrámek, did not occur on the part of the municipal company. He stated that the problem along Dvořák's embankment was the need to first ensure property settlements. "Today we already have metering points in the area, the general contractor is addressing the completion of construction defects, and four cells will be opened," the spokesman noted. "On Rašín's embankment, PRE secured the zoning decision in the autumn of 2024. The cable can already be pulled through cell 8, but it must first be demolished. Only then is it possible to activate the two small cells on Rašin," he added.

"The city has already invested over 459 million crowns into the revitalization of the embankments, and based on information from the municipal company TCP, I know that there has been no decrease in maintenance costs for the embankments in recent years," stated the councilor for property Adam Zábranský (Pirates). He added that compliance with the original concept in the further phases of the revitalization will be overseen by the Institute of Planning and Development, and the building permit issued for the reconstruction of the public toilets will be utilized by TCP, but the architecture and project will be developed by a newly contracted architect.

As for the proposal for river baths, a feasibility study needs to be developed according to the councilor. "It must be taken into account that Prague currently has a number of other investment priorities that directly affect citizens - from the construction of metro line D, the Dvorecký Bridge, the need to address the housing availability crisis, to insufficient capacities in secondary schools," he stated.

The opposition parties ANO and Prague Sobě want to raise this issue at the Thursday meeting of the city council and push for a resolution that would, among other things, require the council to instruct TCP to return to the original concept. "The argument that the city is saving by halting projects with valid permits in a globally unique concept is absurd," stated councilor and head of the Prague ANO cell Ondřej Prokop. "We would also like to transfer the management of Prague monuments to Prague City Tourism (PCT)," added the chairman of Prague Sobě Adam Scheinherr. PCT is a municipal company focused on tourism and manages, among other things, the Petřín lookout tower, the Old Town Hall, and Prague towers.