Prague, Sept 12 (CTK) – The Spanish OCA firm won an international architectural competition for the extension of the Prague Congress Centre (KCP), Prague Mayor Adriana Krnacova (ANO) and KCP representatives told journalists on Tuesday.
The construction of the new building is to start in about three years and to cost hundreds of millions of crowns.
Seventy-six proposed projects were sent to the competition, while six of them advanced to the second round.
“The KCP has been often criticised for its rather precarious appearance,” Krnacova said.
“It is quite large and situated in a prestigious place, but it does not provide enough room for exhibitions,” she added.
The new building will serve for accompanying exhibitions of individual congresses.
It will be situated to the south of the current KCP. Its shape will be elongated.
The winning project also deals with the place around the KCP. It is designed to connect the KCP with the surrounding area.
“The original building lacks contact with the area around it,” a designer said.
The costs of the new project are estimated at 300-600 million crowns, Radim Haluza, chairman of the KCP board, said.
The KCP also invests in the repair of the old building. This is to improve its interior and technologies, while there will be a new wi-fi network and cables.
Originally called the Culture Palace, the KCP was finished in 1981. It was the place in which congresses of the ruling Communists were held.
It is one of the least popular buildings in Prague, but experts say its acoustics is among the best in the world.
