Ministry against Prague. It thwarted her plans to build at the Intercontinental Hotel
The Ministry of Regional Development (MRD) reversed the positive binding opinion originally issued by the Prague City Council on new modifications to the surroundings of the Intercontinental Hotel in Pařížská Street. According to the ministry, the plan is not in line with the zoning plan, so it is not possible to allow it. The modifications that the hotel owner is preparing include a new building on the adjacent piazza, which faces criticism and which concerns the appeals on the basis of which the Ministry of Regional Development ruled. According to Jakub Dyba, the owners’ deputy, the decision is clearly illegal and completely confusing.
The project received an invalid zoning decision last year, against which a number of appeals were received. The Prague City Hall also appealed. The main target of criticism was the planned glass commercial building on the corner of Pařížská and Bílkova streets called Brand Store. Part of the objections stated that the municipal department of territorial development incorrectly described the square as a transformation area in its positive opinion, which justified the admissibility of the development.
The Ministry of Regional Development confirmed these objections and changed the original positive opinion to a negative one. Without a positive binding opinion, the investor, the R2G fund of entrepreneurs Oldřich Šlemra, Eduard Kučera and Pavel Baudiš, cannot obtain a zoning decision. At the same time, the ministry stated that the planned building, due to its size and function, could not be considered “small commercial facilities and services used for the operation and service of public spaces”.
According to Dyby, the decision is a step backwards. “The opinion of the Ministry of Regional Development, which points to an inconsistent methodology in assessing the types of areas, is clearly illegal and completely confusing. It is a step backwards and in fact means an extension of the period when the end of the Paris Avenue will be in a state of disrepair, “he said. He added that the project of modifications came from an international architectural competition, will bring jobs, economic recovery and has the support of experts.
According to Dyba, the renovated Miloš Forman Square is supposed to be a pleasant public space with mature trees, and the new building should occupy only 8.5 percent of its area. “We strongly reject the preservation of the entire project, which anticipates the decision of the ministry. There will be significant damage in the area of the city’s economy, social life, tourism and us as the project investor, “he concluded. The owners have already begun to renovate the hotel, which is to reopen under the Fairmont brand at the end of next year.
The R2G Fund has owned the hotel since 2019, in the same year the owners presented their modification plans resulting from the architectural competition. The Czech office TaK Architects, led by architect Marek Tichý, succeeded in this. The modifications envisage the construction of an area that will connect Bílkova Street to Dvořákovo nábřeží. In addition to the building on the piazza, others are to be built in front of the hotel in Pařížská Street. It is also planned to build an underpass on the embankment and footbridge on Curie Square.
The InterContinental Hotel was established in a brutalist style between 1968 and 1974 in collaboration with three architectural teams led by Karel Filsak. It was the first international five-star hotel in the former Czechoslovakia and is one of the architecturally significant new buildings in the city center. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Culture did not approve its inclusion as a listed building last year.