The former Žižkov spa will become a House of Dance, costing approximately 150 million crowns
The Prague Municipality together with the Prague 3 Town Hall and the Tanec Praha association will establish a new House of Dance. It will probably be based in the unused building of the former city spa in Husitská Street in Žižkov. On Monday evening, councilors approved a memorandum of cooperation in building the building. The House of Dance project was already successful in the competition that the city district launched the year before for the use of the building.
According to earlier information, the construction of the dance center was supposed to cost around 150 million crowns, the Tanec Praha association wants to get a larger part from the National Renewal Plan. According to councilor for culture Hana Třeštíková from the Prague movement, the city will probably provide the necessary co-financing.
Based on a competition, the City Hall of Prague 3 provided the association with a building for rent for a symbolic price for 25 years. The cooperation memorandum still needs to be approved by Prague 3. “The perspective of the House of Dance is long-term, we will be happy if it can be opened within five years,” said Yvona Kreuzmannová, director and founder of Dance Praha.
The four-story house with a dance space of approximately 127 square meters is intended to be a creative and educational center of a community character. It will offer artists technical and administrative facilities, from rehearsal rooms to workshops to a sound studio. It should also be open for, it will include a cafe, a wellness area for dancers and the public, or a so-called coworking space. Various presentations are held here. And residential studios for artists from abroad and regions are also planned.
The house should be connected to a nearby bike path. The entrance will be moved under the bike path, which is located on the same level as the third floor of the building. They could thus stop people passing by the cycle path at the House of Dance. “The proposal envisages the creation of a cafe with an outdoor terrace not only for dancers and creatives, but also for passers-by, skaters and cyclists,” they state architects. They are also planning to revitalize the facades.
“Because it was a spa, there are various options for, for example, exercise rooms or rehabilitation rooms and similar things that are needed,” adds councilor Hana Třeštíková. The architectural study was prepared by Studio Reaktor, the project was also recommended by the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague.
The Žižkov Baths had been in operation since 1903, they had, among other things, two swimming pools and a steam bath, and at one time even the then Emperor Francis Joseph I visited them. Now the building was used for other purposes, in the new millennium a night club operated here. In recent years, the building has been empty. Tanec Praha already has experience with the revitalization of a dilapidated building, similarly at the end of the last millennium it revived the nearby building where it is located today Ponec Theatre.
Last September, the House of Dance Arts was opened on the premises of the former Branice Brewery, where, for example, the conservatory Taneční centrum Praha is located.