OSTRAVA SELECTS CONTRACTOR FOR SECOND PHASE OF THE OSTRAVA CULTURAL CENTRE RECONSTRUCTION AND CONCERT HALL EXTENSION PROJECT

After analysing all submitted documents, the evaluation committee recommended to the City Council the contractor Consortium for the Concert Hall, whose partners are the companies IMOS Brno a. s. and IPS Třinec a. s., offering the lowest bid price for fulfilling the public contract, amounting to 2.798 billion CZK. The City Council approved the contractor selection, conditional upon the submission of documents required by law. The contract with the selected bidder can be signed upon their receipt and after a subsequent fifteen-day period for the submission of any objections, provided no participant raises any objections. Otherwise, the city will resolve the objections within fifteen days. The anticipated completion date of the construction is now set for 2027.

“The process of evaluating the submitted bids was indeed time-consuming, given the extensive scope of the tender conditions. It is important to realise that the construction budget alone included 15,000 items. The evaluation committee progressively assessed whether the individual prices were not too low in comparison with the official pricing system and did not constitute exceptionally low bid prices. The overall bid price was the evaluating criterion. The committee analysed whether the bidder offering the lowest price met the tender conditions, which involved meeting the requirements for the expertise of individual team members, reference projects, and demonstrating experience with similarly technically demanding constructions. The evaluation committee consisted of city representatives and external experts involved in preparing the concert hall project,” explained Břetislav Riger, Vice Mayor for Investments.

A number of experts are involved in the preparation of this architecturally and technically exceptional project. At the peak of project documentation preparation and subsequent bid evaluation, the project involved a team of roughly thirty specialists, both from the ranks of Ostrava City Authority and external consultants. The first phase of the project, covering site preparation, commenced last year and will be completed in mid-2024. The work necessary for the second phase included the construction of water management structures, geothermal wells, rerouting and connecting utility networks, such as gas lines, sewage, and high and low voltage networks, as well as the demolition of a non-functional amphitheatre, including the removal of foundation structures. In connection with the ongoing work, a section of the 28. října Street was also closed towards the end of the year. Construction work on the second phase of the project will begin after the completion of the currently ongoing work as part of the first phase.

“The construction will be financed with the help of a grant from the European Commission, a loan from the European Investment Bank, subsidies from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Moravian-Silesian Region. The city is also preparing applications for grants from other possible funding sources and it is also saving in its targeted fund for financing the concert hall, which currently holds 570 million CZK,” stated Jan Dohnal, City Mayor, adding, “Concurrent with the start of the second phase of the concert hall project, construction work on the parking garage near the regional office will proceed, offering approximately six hundred parking spaces.”

The Ostrava Cultural Centre was designed in 1954 by architect Jaroslav Fragner and constructed between 1956 and 1961, when it was officially opened and quickly became the centre of cultural life. The building formally draws from New Classicism and the Brussels style. The Ostrava Cultural Centre has been a cultural monument since 2004. However, its annual attendance of approximately 250,000 people necessitates the building’s reconstruction. The city became acquainted with the new design of this object in July 2019, when the results of the largest architectural competition in the modern history of Ostrava were announced. The winning proposal by Steven Holl Architects from New York and Architecture Acts from Prague largely preserves the existing building. The shape of the new structure is determined by a supporting steel construction, which is completely unique at least in Central Europe. The building is based on special anti-vibration elements that will absorb vibrations from nearby traffic and tram tracks. A special composition of materials ensuring sound insulation was also designed for the exterior shell. The city has attempted to build a quality concert hall six times, first in the 1860s and most recently in 1969.

“The reconstruction of the Ostrava Cultural Centre is among the city’s key strategic projects. However, the entire affected area is set for significant transformation, including the construction of a science library, the so-called Black Cube, commencement of work on the aforementioned parking garage, plans for the revitalisation of the adjacent Dr. Milada Horáková Park, and changes to 28. října Street,” said Hana Tichánková, Vice Mayor for Strategic Development, Urban Planning and Building Regulations.

The project was included in 2021 by the prestigious American magazine Architizer among the ten most anticipated buildings in the world. The new complex will offer cultural, musical, production, and educational facilities and will also house the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. Visitors will be able to utilise not only the 1,300-seat concert hall but also a theatre hall with 490 seats, a multifunctional chamber hall with a capacity of 515 seats, a 200-seat educational centre, or a multifunctional lecture hall with a capacity of 120 seats. The designers also included a recording studio of world parameters, spaces for leisure activities, restaurants, cafes, and lounges.

“The concert hall for 1,300 listeners will be the largest space in the building. Visitors will sit in an auditorium arranged in a vineyard style, divided into sections. However, the Ostrava Cultural Centre will not be there exclusively for the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra of Ostrava, which will use it as its headquarters and rehearsal space. The hall’s exceptional acoustics will surely be appreciated by a wide range of Czech and foreign artists and other significant orchestras. Other organisers of unique cultural and social events will also find the hall to be their haven,” concluded Lucie Baránková Vilamová, Vice Mayor for Culture. The Japanese company Nagata Acoustics conducted a series of acoustic measurements in the concert hall interior model to ensure the best acoustic parameters. The model, at a 1:10 scale, allowed for simulations under real acoustic conditions. Those interested can visit it via a virtual tour at https://www.koncertnisal.cz/akusticky-model.