The brutalist-style building complex Transgas, located behind the National
Museum building in Prague, can be demolished legally, district building
authorities have decreed. Opponents of the decision now have 15 days in
which to file an appeal.
The current owner of the complex, HB Reavis, plans to construct a new six
to seven story administrative centre on the site a couple hundred metres
from Wenceslas Square, as well as to free up some space for public use.
Some conservationists see the Transgas building as a brutalist icon worth
preserving while others consider it an ugly yet otherwise unremarkable
building typical of the late seventies or early eighties.
Many architects were behind an initiative to prevent the building’s
demolition by having it declared a cultural heritage site, including the
author of its design, Václav Aulický.