Václav Havel Airport Prague is preparing a project to commemorate the legacy of Václav Havel

Work on the joint project started last year when, after an agreement was reached between both institutions, Václav Havel Library announced a non-public bidding procedure for new artwork. Seven architects and studios sent their designs and a jury comprising experts (for the list of experts, please see https://www.vaclavhavel.cz/cs/index/fotogalerie/1579/oznameni-o-vysledcich-vyberoveho-rizeni) and representatives from Prague Airport and Václav Havel Library decided on the following:

1. place: Petr Franta, Architekti & Asoc., spol. s r.o.
2. place: Petr Hájek, Architekti
3. place: Miroslav Cikán, Pavla Melková, Kateřina Frejlachová; in collaboration with Radek Novotný, MCA atelier

“At the moment, we are analyzing the technical and operational aspects of the winning design and how it will be executed. Once we are done with analyzing all of this and after a detailed project plan has been approved over the next few months, together with Václav Havel Library and the author of the winning design, we will present a precise rendering and a timeframe for the creation and installation of the new piece,” explains Jakub Puchalský, Executive Director of Corporate and Marketing Communication of Prague Airport.

Václav Havel Airport Prague has been undergoing an important development stage and has registered record growth in the number of passengers. This has meant increasing demands with respect to the use of the terminal’s interior, where the existing Forum Havlum spreads over two floors, which equates to a relatively large use of limited valuable space for future development. Moreover, safety standards have become more demanding and Prague Airport has to adjust its interiors to meet them. The existing installation completely disregards the current operating and safety standards, which have become stricter compared to several years ago and therefore, it was important to search for a new and original solution to commemorate Václav Havel.

Removal of the present installation will be one of the last steps of the entire project and it will happen only after a precise plan to erect the new piece has been finalized. Based on a preliminary estimate, the new piece is expected to be unveiled in the public area of Terminal 2 during 2020 and unlike Forum Havlum, it will only spread over one floor. A more precise time schedule will depend on a thorough evaluation of the operational impacts and specific feasibility issues.