After the festival and hotel complex Thermal and the Ještěd television and hotel tower, this is the third detailed survey conducted under the leadership of this institute. Their aim was to contribute to a deeper understanding of the researched building, to support its responsible revitalization and also to interpret in detail and impartially the architectural production created between 1948 and 1989. Evaluation and critical analysis of postwar architecture brings with it specific categories take full account of. Above all, the values of live authorship, materiality, unique technological innovations mixed with contemporary standard production, but also a whole range of creative solutions.
In the first phase of the survey of buildings in the immediate vicinity of the National Theater, researchers described the building itself, its history, authorship and concept. They were based on an in-situ study, archival materials, interviews with witnesses and a search of the periodical press. In the second phase, they focused on selected interiors and their inventory. They specified their current condition in detail and also provided restoration assessments of selected materials and elements, which is not common in similar surveys.
"We were surprised by the authenticity of the New Stage building, not only the public part, but especially the background of the theater on the second floor, which contrasted with the interiors of the Restaurant Building, which signed the ruthless approach of the previous owner," says Miroslav Pavel from CTU Faculty of Architecture. "We were dazzled by the sophisticated authorial concept of the teams of Karel Prager and Pavel Kupka, which conceived all the buildings of the National Theater complex as a continuous interconnected space with a direct connection to the exteriors and the city itself," adds Miroslav Pavel. "And we were equally hit by the absolutely extraordinary quality of details, craftsmanship and small architectural elements of the interior," adds his colleague Prof. Petr Vorlík.
