The building of the MDA struggled for two years with problems relating to lack of space for displaying its collections and the bad technical condition of the main building in the centre of Prague. On the basis of this, a Central Depositary was built in Stodůlky and extensive reconstruction work performed on the luxury building on 17. listopadu.
Apart from all of the historical features in the building being restored, the necessary technical changes also had to be made. By moving the collections and the location for service activities to the Central Depositary, space was freed up for public exhibitions presenting the museum’s collections and the range of services provided to visitors has also been extended. They now have the opportunity to view the third floor, space which was not open to the public in the past. A beautiful stairway with murals and stained glass windows leads up there.
Entrance to the museum will now be gained from Široká, thus providing access to the luxury garden and summer space for a museum restaurant. Opening of this facility is planned for this summer. The museum is now able to use 2,200 m² for its permanent exhibitions and 550 m² for the temporary ones, this being almost twice as much space as in 2014.
The creator of the implementation project for renovation work is Ing. arch. Tomáš Šantavý and the contractor is an association of the two companies AVERS and PSG.
For those who are interested, it will be possible to view the empty building from 18 until 20 May 2017, when you can have a good look at these luxury premises. If you are interested, please register on the website of the MDA.
Commencement of operations for the public is planned for this November. You can look forward to a luxury exhibition of art glass and masterpieces from the historical collections of the MDA. In January 2018, the museum will be presenting an exhibition of photographs by the eminent Czech photographer Josef Koudelka, which will be opening on the date of his 80th birthday. Planned displays and exhibitions are now only waiting for approval of financial support by the Ministry of Culture.