National Library head refuses to annul international competition

The head of the National Library, Vlastimil Ježek, has made clear he will not annul an international competition which decided on the design for the new national library last year, saying such a move could lead to an arbitration dispute. Mr Ježek made the point in a letter to Culture Minister Václav Jehlička, the Czech news agency ČTK reported. The National Library head refused to follow through with the move - recommended by the Czech Anti-trust Office - on the grounds it might cost the Czech Republic over a billion crowns in compensation. A design by renowned Czech-born architect Jan Kaplický was originally chosen as the winner in the competition and was to have stood on Prague’s Letna plain, overlooking the city. But the project lost the backing of City Hall, in dispute over land and funds in the case.

Vlastimil Ježek has written the country’s Ombudsman Otakár Motejl asking his office to investigate the different positions in the dispute.