Photos : BoysPlayNice | Visualisations : neoVISUAL
AUTHENTIC RENOVATION Reconstruction of the Former InterContinental Hotel
The former InterContinental Hotel , built between 1968 and 1974 under the direction of Karel Filsak in the historic centre of Prague , is one of the supreme examples of Central European brutalist architecture . Thanks to the involvement of a number of teams of artists and craftsmen , it is one of the most representative buildings of its time , both in terms of its exterior and interior . The ongoing renovation is in the process of completing the first phase and is building on this line with the aim that the building can once again respectably frame the best of past and contemporary art and craftsmanship . On a technical level , it removes the effects of the original flaws and the devastating interventions of the past decades using custom-tailored techniques . This will make it possible to preserve the building ’ s unmistakable character while taking into account the technological and environmental requirements of the 21st century . The wider neighbourhood revitalisation project then seeks to restore broken urban connections and to place the site on the cultural and social map of the city .
“ The building and its details are as universal as they are authentic , as international , reflecting the trends of brutalist architecture , as they are contextual , based on a good knowledge of the environment of Prague and its historical architecture ,” says the author of the project , architect Marek Tichý , emphasizing the uniqueness of the concept of the building , which was unfortunately not attended to with honesty nor thoroughness at the implementation . Due to the poor quality of the original construction work carried out during the high times of socialism , as well as to insensitive interventions , especially in the 1990s , the hotel has been in bad condition both in terms of statics and interior and exterior parts . The extent and demands of the repairs became apparent gradually as the damage and its often makeshift solutions were uncovered . “ The building seems to have been planned with a lifetime of a standardized fifty years , with no regard for the economics of its operation , repair and maintenance requirements , starting with the fundamental defects of the reinforced concrete skeleton , ending with geometric inaccuracies that are tens of percent away from the tolerance specified by building standards . One of the main masses of the building is tilted by an incredible 19 centimetres from the vertical plane ,” Tichý says about the building ’ s condition . Together with experts from a number of professions , with the support of the project ’ s investors , they decided to seek methodologies to restore modern materials , structures , and elements whose expiration date had passed in order to preserve what was most valuable .
Rescue of post-war architecture
These restoration procedures can become teaching material for working with the stock of post-war architecture and contribute to investors ’ inclination to transform and find a new purpose for such buildings instead of demolishing them . An example would be the removal and thorough analysis of 52 large vertical strips of the hotel ’ s envelope composed of ceramic segments interspersed with elements of concrete and glass . It was the ceramics that distinguished the building from the typical construction of its time and gave it its unmistakable character . The sculptor Zbyněk Sekal designed this element in the form of a mosaic of clinker-like brick tiles for the hotel . Their authentic replicas were developed and then manufactured in small family brickworks for a year and a half , with emphasis on different widths , textures , and colours .
Completely new techniques were designed and tested by a team of experts led by Tichý also for the purpose of concrete renovation . The diagnosis
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