The repair of the Spiral Theater at the Exhibition Grounds in Prague 7 will be completed by the end of 2022
Prague – The renovation of the Spiral Theater at the Exhibition Grounds in Prague 7 will be completed by the end of 2022. The premises will then serve primarily culture. The municipal company Výstaviště Praha wants to run the theater itself, including dramaturgy. This was stated today by the Mayor’s Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague Sobě) at a meeting of the Committee for Culture of the Prague City Hall. The building of the Spiral Theater has fallen into disrepair since the floods in 2002, and has been reconstructed for about 200 million since this year.
After the reconstruction is completed, cultural events and theater performances should take place in the theater hall with an atypical circular floor plan. A permanent ensemble will not perform on the boards of the Spiral Theater, but the dramaturgy of the new stage should be in charge of the Výstaviště Praha company. According to the square, commercial use of the premises is also planned. The renovated hall can host, for example, conferences and lectures.
The construction work is now carried out by the association of VW Wachal and Váhostav – SK. According to the contract from May this year, it should cost 114.7 million crowns without VAT. Another roughly 38.5 million crowns without VAT is to be provided by theater equipment, which is provided by the Gradior Tech company. A new multifunctional hall will be created and the modifications will also affect the roof of the hall and the foyer and the entrance ramp for spectators. A new rehearsal room will be created in the Spiral, which has been missing there so far.
The Spiral Theater was established in 1991 by rebuilding the former Panoramic Theater. The Cylindrical Panoramic Theater was roofed in 1960 with a tubular steel dome, designed by Ferdinand Lederer and which is a scaled-down version of the roof of Pavilion Z at the Brno Exhibition Grounds. The construction of the dome was preserved during the reconstruction in 1991 as a technical and cultural monument. The authors of the reconstruction from 1991 are the architects Jindřich Smetana, Jan Louda, Tomáš Kulík and Zbyšek Stýblo. The activities of the theater ceased operation in 2002, when the premises in which the operating technologies and spectator facilities were located were flooded.
The exhibition grounds in Prague 7 are operated by the city-owned company Výstaviště Praha. Last year, the capital invested 160 million crowns in the development of the complex. This year, the pavilions at Křižík’s Fountain and the building of the former Bohemia restaurant are being repaired, where there will no longer be a restaurant, but a multi-purpose hall. Work is also underway on the completion of the previously burned-out wing of the Industrial Palace.