InterContinental in a “new coat”: What will the building around the hotel look like?
InterContinental is one of the most important buildings in the capital. Its origin is related to the development of tourism and the need to increase accommodation capacity in the 1960s.
It was interesting that in 1965 the representatives of the communist apparatus began negotiations with the American company “Tower International” on a share in the construction of a hotel of the then top quality, which was strongly oriented towards an international (rich) clientele.
In the end, an agreement was reached between Čedok (the only institution authorized to be involved in the construction) and the International Hotels Corporation (IHC) on February 11, 1967. Today’s InterContinental Hotel was to open three years later. However, the plan was invaded by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. The generously sponsored hotel did not start operating (without Americans, of course) until 1974.
“Although the deadline was not met, the requirement for a quality design was met. Prague received a sovereign architectural work in this building, corresponding to the contemporary European tendencies. It was a building that presented Prague with strong brutalism, but in a softened sense – although raw, unplastered concrete was used as one of the distinctive features of the façade, it was complemented by completely ‘non-brutalist’ warm brown ceramics, “writes Kateřina Houšková in last year’s National Monument Institute (NPÚ).
The hotel is not a cultural monument
According to conservationists, the InterContinental, where many famous people have stayed during almost fifty years of operation, deserves the protection of cultural monuments. However, the proceedings have not yet been closed since 2015.
The work of Karel Filsak from the Epsilon studio of the Project Institute of Construction of the Capital City of Prague In addition to the facades, the interiors of Prague and other author teams, including Karel Bubeníček, also attracted attention to the interiors, which, however, due to the printing of presentations in black and white, lost their impact. “And it is the impressiveness, the first impression that has indelibly touched any visitor, that is mentioned by all witnesses from the professional and lay public,” adds Houšková to the InterContinental.
The famous hotel, which also attracts a beautiful view from the Zlatá Praha restaurant on the ninth floor, was dominated at the beginning of last year by the investment company R2G of domestic billionaires Oldřich Šlemr, Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kučera, the founders of the technology company Avast.
This year, the hotel will be taken over by the luxury Fairmont chain, which is part of the Accor hotel group, and under its leadership, the hotel will be renovated. The project also envisages modifications in the area.
This week, those interested could view the design of the architect Marek Tichý from the author’s TaK architects during a public presentation of the team. According to the municipality, dozens of people have arrived. Prague also published visualizations.
“Discussions with citizens are beneficial at the beginning of any construction. It is important that it is conducted constructively, as locals often capture details that the architect does not see. I am glad that InterContinental is in the hands of people who have a long-standing relationship with Prague 1 and are not afraid of discussions with citizens, “said the Mayor’s Deputy for Regional Development Petr Hlaváček (United Forces for Prague / TOP 09) in a press release.
The authors are in the design phase
Disagreement with the construction of a “smaller commercial building following the development of Pařížská Street” has long prevailed among the inhabitants of the historic center. According to one of the pictures, Miloš Forman Square should be filled with a colorful and spatially significant building that extends beyond the surrounding historic houses. “However, I would like to assure citizens that the building will not look that way. But it must also be said that we are in the design phase. The final transformation of this may end up looking different, “said architect Tichý.
According to Tichý, from the very beginning, the authors went to the public space near the InterContinental Hotel, which in their opinion is currently ugly. “We want to significantly expand the space, extend Pařížská Street and connect it with Dvořák’s embankment to the Vltava. All with an emphasis on making it an attractive space for the public. That is why the project has the working name Old Town Gate, “says architect Marek Tichý.
The authors of the project also promise to calm traffic and chaotic parking on the piazzetta next to the hotel. The city praises the openness of the investor, Tichý said that the first reactions of the public were “generally positive”.
After a comprehensive renovation, the iconic hotel will open under a new name referring to the aforementioned Golden Prague Hotel restaurant. But history has intervened at least once in the plans for the InterContinental (popularly known as “Contik”). Moreover, political developments in the central part of the city are now a bit unclear. So who knows what the hotel’s future will be like…