CZ, 2012
The Cathedral is a very important historic monument. The building itself is many centuries old.
The Czechs do not like to change their historic monuments. Why should anything that already is great be changed?
Nevertheless, it is worth giving a thought. Why couldn't we bring the old building closer to this century? Why couldn't we complement its meaning and shift its value?
The concept for the new second tower is made for the Czech public. It has a symbolic value. The form is the copy of the old, forgotten tower. It looks the way it may have looked in the past. It respects the symmetry and the height of the original tower. But it has a contemporary touch. It is not a postmodern sculpture, but a reminiscence of something that could have been there. It is a monument and a memento of the unfinished cathedral. The tower is present and absent at the same time. It is transparent and symbolic.
Pilsen also has its modern history. Not only the gothic one. So why should it not be apparent at the main square? There are a few things that make this town famous. For example the industry. And of course the beer! The construction of the tower is made out of steel and has a golden color.
The new tower is very modest and respects its surroundings. It nearly does not touch the roof. It also respects the form of the cathedral and it is not arrogant.
In this way, the new tower does not create the surroundings, it completes it.
