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Factories and other industrial buildings are slowly disappearing from Prague and heritage protectors are therefore trying to preserve their original "raw" atmosphere, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes in its Prague supplement yesterday.
Some of old industrial complexes have been rebuilt to serve other purposes, such as galleries or offices, while others have been completely demolished.
Heritage protectors have been gathering documentations on such buildings for six years that they would like to use for their protection now, MfD writes.
Industrial buildings are spread all over the city since Prague used to be the country's industrial centre for some 150 years. However, its face considerably changed in this respect in the past decade when factories had to give way to housing development, the paper writes.
Developers are often eager to buy such industrial complexes, especially if they are situated around the city centre, but not with the intention to renovate them for new purposes. They simply want to pull them down completely and build new residential houses instead, MfD writes "This is why we have created a background documentation for their possible protection," said Michaela Ryskova, from the National Heritage Institute in Ostrava, north Moravia, which has much experience with the reconstruction of abandoned industrial facilities.
Now experts must sum up the collected data on "industrial heritage" in Prague and other towns and submit it to the Culture Ministry that is in charge of the lists of protected real estate, MfD notes.
There are simple criteria for entering an industrial building into this prestigious list: it must be unique in one or more aspects, for instance, thanks to its technological solutions, architectonic elements or importance, the paper adds.
It mentions several examples of successful and less successful reconstructions of old factories.
In 2003-2008, architect Ivan Kroupa turned a complex of industrial buildings from the 19th century in Holesovice district into the DOX Contemporary Art Centre with spacious exhibition halls. The centre does not hide its minimalist modern appearance behind a historical facade.
Another successful reconstruction is also a private project. Architect Josef Pleskot was returned an old family factory from 1884, producing water meters, in the restitution process in the 1990s and he built up a gallery and office of his architectonic studio there, while preserving the "old industrial beauty" of the former factory to the maximal extent.
The abandoned CKD production hall in Prague-Karlin was recently restored by famous architects Ricardo Bofill and Jean Pierre Carniaux into an administrative building connecting historical and modern elements.
"In my opinion, the most amazing project is the establishment of the MeetFactory by (artist) David Cerny, which corresponds to current trends in Western Europe," Eva Dvorakova, from the Prague Heritage Institute, told the paper.
The three-storey former railway building at the end of the Smichov station was dilapidated for years until 2007 when Cerny along with other artists opened a culture centre there which abounds in rough but authentic atmosphere, MfD writes.
On the other hand, some projects in Prague have failed from the architectonic viewpoint, for instance, the residential complex built instead of the old Vinohrady brewery, founded in 1895, a part of which burnt down in 2000.
At present, the Zizkov goods station has a great potential as it is in a quite good shape, architect Zdenek Lukes pointed out.
"However, I fear that they will pull it down," he added.
The former station is threatened with developers' ambitious plans to create a whole new residential district at this place, MfD says. |
