MAY 2022
The City has approved the sale of land for the “Rezidence Stodolní” development
At the April session of the Ostrava City Assembly, deputies approved the City’s plans to sell the land for the “Rezidence Stodolní” project to the developer Linkcity Czech Republic a. s. at a price set by an expert valuation (minimum 24 758 000 CZK excl. VAT). The investor has submitted a proposal to create a high-quality multi-functional building at this lucrative city centre site, with around 158 apartments, parking spaces, and commercial premises offering opportunities for retail and services. The plans also take into consideration the importance of leisure activities, incorporating garden areas and places where people can meet and socialize. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2026.
The new development will fill an existing gap in the densely built-up city centre. The plans incorporate elements of green-blue infrastructure, with shared garden areas, a green roof, and greenery that will help create a pleasant microclimate. The project also includes plans for the public space between the new development and the historic slaughterhouse (now being converted into a contemporary art gallery); this is not part of the land that will be sold to the investor, but its future appearance is closely connected with the Rezidence Stodolní project. The public space will be a pedestrian zone.
Linkcity is a developer and project investor that leverages its combination of global strength and local experience. It specializes in projects revitalizing urban brownfields for mixed use, as well as industrial projects, hotels, and custom-designed projects tailored to clients’ individual requirements.
Visualization Bogle Architects
Reconstruction of the former Ostravica-Textilia department store has begun
On 7 April 2022 the contractor Bystroň Group launched work on the reconstruction of the former Ostravica-Textilia department store in Ostrava’s city centre. The date was a symbolic one: 22 years precisely after two floors and part of the roof collapsed, forcing the building to be closed to the public. The structure remained empty for more than two decades, gradually falling into dereliction. The situation has changed significantly in the past few years, and at the end of 2021 an investor announced plans to breathe new life into this historic building by transforming it into a multi-functional cultural centre.
The former Ostravica-Textilia department store is a complex consisting of three conjoined buildings, each designed by a different architect. In the late 1920s a new department store was built in Ostrava to plans by the Berlin-based avant-garde architect Marie Frommer. It was then incorporated into a complex in conjunction with two adjacent buildings – the Textilia department store, designed by the Moravian architect Felix Neumann in 1911, and an adjoining bank building. This third building – the former Commercial and Industrial Bank – will undergo a separate reconstruction as part of a different project. The owners plan to restore the bank building to its former appearance and add a brand-new building on the vacant lot adjoining 28. října Street.
The reconstruction project is scheduled for completion in June 2023, after which it will be ready for use. Around half of the reconstructed part of the complex will be open to the general public, including the central atrium with its historic staircase. This part of the complex will include a restaurant, a café and a music club in the basement level. The top floor will also be open to the public; it will house an auditorium for theatrical performances and conferences. The second and third floors will contain a creative industry centre called the BUSINESS BOUTIQUE OSTRAVICA, which will comprise labs, special studios with 3D virtual reality technology, offices and shared spaces including meeting rooms and lecture halls.
Visualization: Master Design
In June, Ostrava will host a conference focusing on brownfields
On 19 June 2022, the Lower Vítkovice complex will host the fourth edition of the successful annual Brownfields conference. The main topic at this year’s event will be industrial development on brownfield sites in the era of sustainability. Using examples from Ostrava and other places, participants will share their knowledge of how local and national government and developers can transform declining industrial regions in order to equip them for the 21st century.
The conference will present inspirational examples of projects from the Czech Republic and abroad, helping to find solutions for brownfield sites that are still waiting for their “second chance”. The guests will include leading experts on development, industry, the environment and funding, as well as representatives of regional and national government bodies.
The accompanying programme will include a guided tour of brownfields in Ostrava and the surrounding area, which will take place on Friday 17 June 2022.
The Brownfields conference is a platform for dialogue between the private and public sectors targeted at the development of brownfield sites in the Czech Republic. The event is being organized by the CzechInvest agency, the Association of Developers, and brownfields regeneration expert Kateřina Kubizňáková, with the support of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade.
See HERE for the full conference programme and tickets (only in Czech).
ABB is opening a robotics production and development centre in Mošnov
Around ten months after construction began, the ABB robotics centre at OSTRAVA AIRPORT MULTIMODAL PARK (OAMP) in Mošnov is now open for business. The total investment, which tops 300 million CZK, will initially create around 120 skilled jobs. The new centre has strong synergy with other facilities operated by ABB, producing and developing modular robotic cells primarily for the European market and working in close conjunction with the company’s industrial robot repair centre, which is becoming increasingly important to ABB’s global operations. The new Ostrava centre forms part of the company’s global network of robot repair and renovation centres, which includes facilities in Auburn Hills (Michigan, USA) and Shanghai (China).
The new centre is based in the fourth hall to be built at the OAMP complex; covering an area of 13 500 m2, it takes the total leasable area at the Multimodal Park to 138 000 m2. The OAMP as a whole covers 52 hectares, and when construction work is complete it will offer 234 000 m2 of logistics, production and office premises. A multimodal transport terminal will begin operating in the middle of this year; this will enable companies based at the OAMP to transfer a substantial proportion of their logistics from road transport to rail transport. This will make the Multimodal Park unique not only in the Czech Republic, but also within Central Europe as a whole.
Information and visualization from ABB
Revitalized historic slaughterhouse will be open for public viewing from mid-May
It will soon be possible for members of the public to take their first look at the revitalized former city slaughterhouse and enjoy the beauty of this historic structure before the PLATO contemporary art gallery moves into its new premises there. In conjunction with PLATO and Ostrava’s Municipal Studio for Urban Planning and Architecture (MAPPA), the City of Ostrava has organized an Open Month at the site. This fascinating and historically important building will be the venue for a programme of events targeted at both experts and the general public. The official opening ceremony will be followed by the openings of the first two exhibitions at the gallery.
There will be several guided tours of this unique site conducted by historians and an architect, as well as tours targeted at families with children. The Open Month will also include tours designed specially for schools, architecture students, or providers of hotel and accommodation services. All the planned events will be offered free of charge, though advance booking will be essential due to limited capacity. More information about the events (including how to book) will be published soon on the City of Ostrava’s website.
The first three companies are set to move into the new Hrušov logistics park
The developer GLP, a specialist in logistics facilities and distribution parks, has already leased all the premises created in Phase 1 of the newly built GLP Park in Ostrava’s Hrušov district to tenants. The first tenants are Prosperplast, Logflex and Hyundai Steel Czech; the companies will be moving into their new premises during the spring. GLP Park is the outcome of an ambitious project to revitalize an urban brownfield site (a former chemical plant), and it is breathing new life into the entire district and creating over 100 skilled jobs.
The first foundations for the modern GLP Park logistics centre were laid last October on the site of the former Hrušov chemical works. Just a few months later, the first tenants are now set to move into the premises. Phase 1 of the complex covers 17 500 m2, and the entire space has already been leased to its first tenants. When Phase 2 is completed during next year, the complex will offer 92 000 m2 of high-quality premises ideal for logistics and light industrial production. The entire GLP Park complex will meet the most demanding environmental requirements.
Decades of industrial production at the former chemical plant caused severe environmental damage and heavily polluted soil. This meant that before launching construction work, GLP had to carry out a costly decontamination of the site in order to completely revitalize the soil.
Visualization: GLP
Acoustic measurements inside the model of the future concert hall are almost complete
In order to ensure that Ostrava’s future concert hall will offer world-class acoustic parameters, experts have been carrying out several series of acoustic measurements. The measurements are being conducted by the renowned Japanese company Nagata Acoustics, which has helped design similar concert halls all around the world. The results of the measurements enable the experts to verify the proposed design and make any necessary alterations. The process is taking place using a 1:10 scale model of the concert hall’s interior, which has been built in the town of Mnichovo Hradiště. The team from Nagata Acoustics arrived there in early January to test the proposed design, enabling them to identify any acoustic problems and verify whether the shape and configuration of the auditorium (designed by means of computer modelling) and the proposed materials will give the rich, clear sound that is essential for a top-class concert hall.
Once the testing process is complete, the model will be transported to Ostrava, where it will be installed at the Plato gallery to be viewed by the general public. In the future, it will be made available to local universities for teaching purposes.
Transformation of public space will be integrated with the revitalization of the former city slaughterhouse
The revitalization of Ostrava’s historic former city slaughterhouse to create a contemporary art gallery is nearing its completion – and this ambitious project will be integrated with a major transformation of the adjacent public spaces, which will be launched in April 2022 and is scheduled for completion in the autumn of this year. As well as offering a pleasant and inviting space with plenty of greenery where people will enjoy spending time, the design will also take into consideration the historical context, incorporating several historical elements that were discovered during excavation work connected with the conversion project at the nearby city slaughterhouse. Like the slaughterhouse conversion itself, the new public space has been designed by the architect Robert Konieczny. The technical documentation was drawn up by the Ostrava-based studio MS-projekce, and the landscaping design was created by Denisa Tomášková.
The visual segmentation of the outdoor area by means of roads and paths echoes the configuration of several former buildings (now demolished) that used to form part of the slaughterhouse complex. There will be packed gravel paths linking the Plato art gallery with three streets in the vicinity: Porážková, Janáčkova and Masná St. The paths will incorporate historic cinderblock paving stones that were discovered during the archaeological survey that preceded the slaughterhouse revitalization project.
The space will also include extensive greenery – lawns, wilder grassy areas featuring typical meadowland species, bushes and trees. There will also be a small pond that will be home to a community of aquatic plants. The greenery will be irrigated from two underground retention tanks that will hold water collected from the roofs of the slaughterhouse complex.
Visualization: Robert Konieczny, KWK PROMES
An avenue of trees near the Sýkora Bridge is being revitalized
An avenue of trees flanking 28. října Street between the Miloš Sýkora Bridge and Sokolská Street in Ostrava city centre is undergoing a complete revitalization. The original rowan trees are being replaced by 21 new maples, which will be better able to cope with the urban environment and will prosper in their new home.
The 21 field maples are replacing rowan trees which were either dead or dying. The rowans had suffered in their urban environment, and they would never have been able to live long and healthy lives. The advantages of the newly planted maples include their resilience to dust and low temperatures and their ability to thrive when pruned back.
The soil will be completely replaced as part of the new planting, using a permeable substrate enriched with bio-coal and fertilizer that will dissolve gradually over a long period. This will be the first time that greenery plantings in Ostrava will use a bio-vaccine in the substrate as well as in the form of an injection directly into the root structure; this will not only help the trees to prosper during the critical early phase after planting, but it will also enable them to survive long-term in extreme conditions.
Visualization: Magda Cigánková
Architect Josef Pleskot has received a City award and is responsible for the design of a new cycle bridge
The architect Josef Pleskot has received a special award from the City of Ostrava in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the city’s development in the field of architecture. The award was first given in 1996, and it acknowledges people who have contributed to Ostrava’s development or good reputation.
Josef Pleskot is the holder of many prestigious architectural awards and prizes. His work has played a key role in Ostrava’s modern development, and he is perhaps best known for the revitalization and transformation of the Lower Vítkovice industrial complex, including iconic structures such as the Gong, the Bolt Tower or the Science and Technology Centre. His design for the latter project earned him the 2014 Architect of the Year award. Pleskot has also designed a cycle bridge that will soon be built to link Lower Vítkovice with a cycle route running alongside the Ostravice River into the city centre. Building work will begin this year.
Josef Pleskot’s relationship with Ostrava can best be summed up in the words that he wrote in the city’s chronicle: “Ostrava has become the city of my professional maturity, and for that reason, it has left an imprint in my heart.”
Photograph: Jiří Zerzoň
Applications to study at the University of Ostrava have surged to the highest level in 5 years
The University of Ostrava has received over 12 000 applications to study – a rise of 8 percent compared with last year. Last March, the University had 11 173 applications, but this year it has already received currently 12 103 applications – and this number will probably continue to rise because some degree programmes are still open for applications. Even now, the University has already received the highest number of applications in the past five years. An upsurge in interest has been registered by the Medical Faculty, the Science Faculty, the Faculty of Arts, and the Faculty of Social Studies.
The University of Ostrava has around 10 000 students, and its unique range of faculties enables it to offer a diverse selection of degree programmes. However, the University is not only an important centre for education and research: it also plays an important role in the region’s social and cultural life, assisting Ostrava in its transformation from a former heavy industrial centre into a thriving modern university city.
Photograph: University of Ostrava
The Hranečník Park & Ride site will be expanded to provide more parking spaces
The Park & Ride (P+R) site at the Hranečník transport terminal in Slezská Ostrava is set to undergo an expansion that will create more parking spaces. An additional 86 spaces will be built, enabling more people to leave their cars at a location outside the city centre – which in turn will contribute to reductions in emissions and related environmental improvements in central Ostrava.
Park & Ride systems are closely integrated with public transport networks in order to alleviate pressure on parking capacity in the central zones of cities.
When the expansion project is complete, the Hranečník P+R site will offer 169 parking spaces, and it will be fully integrated not only into Ostrava’s public transport system but also into the city’s bikesharing scheme. There will also be new charging points for electric vehicles. The entire project has been designed in order to minimize environmental impacts.
The project will take place in two separate phases. The first phase will involve the construction of the new parking spaces; this phase is scheduled to last around six months, and the existing parking area will remain in operation throughout the entire process. The second phase will involve alterations to the access routes. This will last around one month, and operations at the public transport terminal will not be affected by the construction work.
Photograph: Lukáš Kaboň
This year’s Invest MORE conference will take place at Landek Park
The seventh edition of the annual Invest MORE conference will take place on 25 May 2022 at the Landek Park complex. The topic of this year’s conference will be “The Future of Education – The Future of Companies”. Key participants will include representatives of Czech industry and the education sector, who will baseline the current situation and discuss the possibilities for future developments in education and training for businesses.
The conference, which is being organized by Moravian-Silesian Investment and Development (MSID), will address a range of issues connected with corporate training and education, featuring insights from representatives of Czech industry and education providers. One of the keynote speakers will be Radek Špicar, the Vice-Chair of the Czech Association for Industry and Transport.
Presentations and discussions will cover not only the effective use of training in companies but also the competencies that will be of key importance for both employers and employees, as well as the role that can be played by corporate academies.
Participants can look forward to a range of interesting presentations and discussions, a forum for networking, and a field trip to Ostrava’s Mining Museum (including the opportunity to go underground into simulated mine tunnels).
See HERE for more information and registration (only in Czech).
OTHER NEWS
The National Museum of Agriculture in Ostrava has opened a unique new exhibition
The National Museum of Agriculture in Ostrava has created a new exhibition entitled “Agriculture 4.0”, which presents the changes that agriculture is currently undergoing in an exciting and attractive format, including demonstrations of new technologies, machinery and systems.
The name of the new exhibition refers to the most recent fundamental shift in agricultural production, which involves the development of sensor-based technologies, autonomous machinery and digital platforms – all of which substantially reduce the amount of physically demanding and routine processes that farmers need to do. The exhibition also traces the development of agriculture from the 19th century onwards.
Visitors to the museum can see a robotic arm that was used in the 1980s to produce plough blades. More recent technologies on display include a robotic milking machine, an autonomous gardening robot, a vertical farm, a 3D printer used to make chocolate, photo-bioreactors, and exhibits illustrating the use of plastics and genetically modified crops. The exhibition will last until 28 February 2023.
The City is offering funding to support foreign-language teaching
Ostrava’s City Assembly has approved funding of 7.76 million CZK to support foreign-language teaching in the school year 2022/2023.
The programme will support a range of activities connected with foreign-language teaching in Ostrava, from pre-school level to secondary education. The funding will help pay students’ fees for internationally recognized foreign language tests, fund training programmes to boost teachers’ competencies, enable the purchase of materials and equipment for foreign-language teaching, and cover wage costs for language teachers and native-speaker assistants. Applications can be submitted up to 8 May 2022. Detailed information is available at the City’s talent management website talentova.cz.
The City is recruiting a new Director for Ostrava City Library
Ostrava’s City Council has announced a recruitment procedure for the Director of the Ostrava City Library, which is owned and funded by the City. The Czech Republic’s third-largest public library is seeking a highly competent manager with knowledge of the Czech library sector.
Interested parties can submit their applications up to 1 p.m. on 20 May 2022. The successful applicant will take up the position on 1 September 2022. Applicants must give a presentation to the recruitment committee setting out their own vision of the Library’s mission and its future course of development. Candidates should present their strategic goals as well as specific measures that will enable these goals to be achieved. They should also present their financial plans, human resources proposals, and communication strategies.
The City is seeking a candidate with excellent managerial skills, outstanding communicative skills (including diplomatic competencies), and a good level of proficiency in at least one major international language. Detailed information on specific requirements as well as the full terms and conditions of the recruitment process can be found on the websites of the City or the City Library.