Modernization of the second department store in the former Czechoslovakia – OD Máj, will begin in June this year. The domestic developer Amádeus Real, owned by the Prague family company Klánů, is currently selecting a construction contractor. The company already has a valid building permit and the start of the planned reconstruction is no longer in the way.
The modernization of Máje will begin exactly 50 years after the start of its construction in 1972 and will last approximately 1.5 years. It should be open to the public at the end of 2023. The reconstruction will cost over a billion crowns. Throughout its time, May will be closed to the public. Currently, the specific dates of its gradual Máj closures are already known.
“The whole ground floor and the first floor will be closed on April 30, and from May 1 it will no longer be possible to enter OD Máj from Národní třída and walk through the passage. Tesco’s business premises will be open until May 15. Starting on May 16, all entrances to the department store will be completely closed,” says Václav Klán Jr. from Amádeus Real, who manages the entire project as its general manager within the family business.
“We anticipate that clearing work will begin in mid-May, which will take about 3 weeks. In the course of June, the construction should be taken over by its general contractor, whose selection we are currently finalizing,” adds Mája V. Klán Jr. to the closing schedule.
Amádeus Real has collaborated with the original authors – architects Martin Rajniš and Johnny Eisler – since the beginning of the preparations for the modernization of Máje. The Czech company AGE Project is then signed under the final architectural design of the reconstruction. The chosen variant of modernization was consulted at the Department of Monument Care and a number of other experts in the field of monument care and urban planning. It was also assessed by the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City of Prague. of Prague (including its advisory board). The individual suggestions were taken into account in the preparation of the study.
“Together with Johny, May and I had the opportunity to not only see but also comment on May’s emerging architectural designs. We think that its final form after modernization has well combined our original idea, but it is also a positive step forward. It is simply impossible to preserve the whole state at the level of 50 years back. We believe that the public will like it after the opening,” said one of the original authors, architect Martin Rajniš.
The final concept, for example, fully preserves the original appearance of the cultural monument of the building, including the design of replicas of facades or their colors on Národní třída or the unique space of the climate on the 5th floor.
“We not only respected the comments and suggestions of the conservationists, but we also tried to take into account as much as possible that Máj is a cultural architectural monument,” said Václav Klán Jr., co-owner Amádeus Real and general manager of the OD Máj reconstruction project. However, the renovation of this exceptional building in the very center of Prague necessarily needs the replacement of its outdated technologies as well as the modification of the interior. The Máj building has a total of 11 floors (8 above ground and 3 underground).
After the reconstruction, May will offer one underground floor for the public, others will have warehouses, technologies, etc. The above-ground floors will also offer premises for shops, gastronomic establishments and offices. “We certainly anticipate that a grocery store will be preserved in one of the underground floors, which will be appreciated especially by local people, because in the pure center of Prague 1 there are simply not many similar options for buying this basic assortment,” adds V.Klán Jr.
The overall functional concept of the reconstructed Máj will also go against the current trends of the department stores of the future. The center of Prague will thus gain another modern space within the preserved architectural monument, which will serve the public and provide a wide range of services from civic amenities to entertainment.
