iRozhlas Thermal is back in operation, but the dispute over reconstruction continues. 'They still don't communicate,' says the architects' granddaughter
Almost four months have passed since Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (for ANO) promised to invite the family of architects of the Thermal Hotel to a meeting. The grandchildren of the authors Věra and Vladimír Machoninová have been criticizing the non-transparency and planned form of the brutalist building for a long time. "They still don't communicate with us," Machonin's granddaughter Marie Kordovská told the iROZHLAS.cz server. At the same time, Thermal is already back in operation after reconstruction.
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In February, according to Kordovská, the management of Thermal and the Ministry of Finance, which owns the hotel, argued that the renovation was being rushed because of the film festival. But it was cancelled. "The Minister of Finance told us that she will definitely meet with us. Although there was a coronavirus in between, it's been four months or maybe longer. We sent them calls through a lawyer and the ministry did not respond. So it's the same as always," said Kordovská. The Minister of Finance did not respond to questions from the iROZHLAS.cz server.
According to Jan Kordovský, nothing is happening on the part of Thermal so far. "Also, they have the great excuse that they don't have time for it. We can't do much at the moment. We wanted to do some events during the festival, but due to its cancellation, it probably doesn't matter," said Kordovský. According to him, the hotel management could have at least sent a visualization of the reconstructed rooms for comment. "All the while it's pretending nothing's happening, and suddenly it's forgotten," he continued.
,We work with respect'
The complex opened on Monday after reconstruction. "Guests will return to the partially renovated rooms this week. And the reconstruction continues, it's not over yet," Thermal director Vladimír Novák told the editors.
Despite the cancellation of the film festival and the possibility to continue working, according to the director, it is necessary to adhere to the agreed deadlines. It is said that there is currently a discussion between legal representatives. However, according to him, the announced meeting with the family of architects is still valid.
I am interested in Věra Machoninová's opinion, I met her family once, says the director of Thermal
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"Now the initiative came rather from the Machonin family. During the last week, our legal representatives communicated. Not much has changed at the level of what needs to be discussed with the architect. According to our lawyer, we fulfill the requirements of the copyright law, but the ideas of the Machonins are beyond the scope of that law," said Novák.
According to him, the rooms are rather improved after the reconstruction. "We work with respect for what was here. But I assume that the authors will not like it," he added, adding that the economic aspect is also important. According to Novák, instead of 30 million crowns, the hotel pays only 15 million crowns a year for energy. After the reconstruction, the complex was supposed to open in mid-March, but then the plans were thwarted by the coronavirus epidemic.
The Thermal Hotel building was built between 1967 and 1976 and has been a dominant feature of the Karlovy Vary spa area ever since. The hotel has 273 rooms with a capacity of 533 beds, the complex is complemented by a congress center with a total capacity of 2,000 conference seats, which mainly consists of a large cinema hall for 1,148 spectators, three smaller halls for 50 spectators, another hall with 245 seats, a congress hall for 300 people, a congress hall and conference lounges. The hotel also has two large restaurants and other facilities.
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