After decades of preparation, Brno has tendered a contract for the construction of a concert hall

The management of Brno yesterday took another step towards the construction of a concert hall. In the newly announced order, he is looking for a contractor for the building, for which the Brno Philharmonic has been waiting for decades. The hall will be in the city center between Veselá and Besední streets, where underground garages were already built between 2015 and 2018. The city council informed about the procurement procedure after its meeting yesterday. Philharmonic representatives welcomed the decision.

The value of the order is CZK 2.4 billion net and with the option to take inflation into account. The state had previously promised to provide CZK 600 million. The procurement procedure will last nine months. So construction should start next year and end in 2026.

The contract is a continuation of this year's agreement with the owner of the neighboring International Hotel, thanks to which the city will acquire a plot of land with a former substation near the concert hall and a plot of land with a staircase. "The technological background will therefore be outside the building itself, thereby reducing the risk of vibrations, and a new square named after the first rector of JAMU, Ludvík Kundera, will be created on the corner of Besední and Veselá," said Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS).

The contract will also include the technical equipment of the hall, i.e. sound system, interpreter booths, lighting and projection equipment. Interiors and organs will be competed separately. It is because of the unresolved organ that the newly elected representative Matěj Hollan (Žít Brno) criticizes the contract. According to him, before the completion of the organ project, even the building as a whole cannot be responsibly competed, which he said he pointed out in vain. For example, he called for a professional colloquium.

"I am very shocked that this did not happen and a few days after the election the coalition forcefully declared this, even though they were informed of this fundamental deficiency," said Hollan.

The Philharmonic plans to play 40 of its own concerts in the hall per season, and other concerts and other events, such as conferences, can also be held there. The hall will have a capacity of 1,200 seats, which is roughly three times the size of the Besední hall, the current seat of the Philharmonic. An orchestra of more than a hundred members will be able to perform concerts in Brno in full cast, moreover in top acoustic conditions.

"After the great concerts in Salzburg and before the big British tour, where several top halls await us, together with the orchestra we are especially aware of how modern a new hall we need for the further development of the ensemble and for a perfect audience experience," said the director of the Brno Philharmonic Marie Kučerová.

Source: CTK