International Property News

Rich Czechs' houses may flood �umava

1st April 2008

The sight of Modrava, a beautiful settlement in the Sumava mountains, with its ridge-roof wooden chalets sparsely scattered across vast plains, might change soon as rich Czechs plan to build modern houses in this locality, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes Tuesday.

One new house, made of concrete and with a flat roof, is being completed in Modrava by billionaire Zdenek Bakala in the vicinity of the historical Klostermann chalet that was reopened to tourists after a reconstruction a few years ago.

A similar, though a bit smaller building is to be built by Prague architect Vaclav Hodan as his private house in Filipova Hut, a remote part of Modrava and the country's highest situated settlement (about 1,120 metres above the sea).

Like Bakala's project, Hodan's is far from looking like a typical Sumava chalet. Situated in the slope and partly underground, the main building will have a ridge roof but the adjacent buildings will have flat roofs, MfD writes.

The administration of the Sumava National Park, where Modrava is situated and on whose approval each construction project depends, reportedly gave the green light to Hodan's plan after a thorough debate.

"We discussed it for three months. The investor originally proposed a larger portion of flat roofs. Facing our objections, he came up with certain modifications that he managed to push through. As a result, the building will not affect the landscape," asserts Tomas Hlavaty from the administration.

Modrava's municipal councillors are embarrassed by the project. They have passed a resolution saying that the project will afflict the urban style of Filipova Hut, the last preserved typical Sumava village.

"Although the municipal council dislikes the project, we can do nothing about it. However, we'd be glad if a discussion about architecture in Sumava were launched," Modrava Mayor Antonin Schubert is quoted as saying.

Nevertheless, Vaclav Ulc, an architect from Plzen, west Bohemia, has praised the project saying it is "cultivated" and would not harm the Sumava landscape.

Ulc warned against the "petrifying" of Sumava landscape by allowing only a single type of "original chalet" to be built there. "This would lead to a stereotype and the landscape would start to be boring," Ulc told MfD.

Source: Prague Monitor