NPÚ has commenced the reconstruction of its new administrative building in Ostrava

The National Heritage Institute, regional expert workplace in Ostrava has begun the reconstruction of a new administrative building at Odboje Street No. 1 in Ostrava-Fifejdy. Today's handover of the building to the contractor (a consortium of companies Průmstav, a.s. and VOKD, a.s.) has initiated a large-scale adaptation that will last until the end of 2014. The new administrative building will provide facilities for expert staff and the economic management department of NPÚ, and will also serve as a documentation workplace, archive, repository for archaeological finds, and a specialized library for heritage care. It is also expected that part of the building's capacity will be utilized by another state administration body.

The repository for archaeological finds will be a unique project. It will ensure appropriate storage of finds owned by the state originating from rescue archaeological research conducted in the Moravian-Silesian Region. In addition to a modern low-energy repository, facilities will also be created to enable the study and professional evaluation of the stored artifacts. The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Silesian Provincial Museum.

The building has been managed by NPÚ since 2005. After the approval of the investment intention for reconstruction by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, a project was prepared (by MS architekti s.r.o.) and a public tender was announced for the construction contractor, completed in August of this year. The completion of the reconstruction is planned for December 31, 2014. The costs of the implementation, based on the results of the public contract, amount to 68.87 million CZK and are largely covered by the budget of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic (program SMVS, Support for the Reproduction of State Cultural Institutions' Property, identification number 134V112000035).

After the reconstruction is completed, the city of Ostrava and the entire region will gain not only a restored cultural monument documenting the interwar expansion of Ostrava architecture but also a new place for cultural and popular scientific activities. The building will also include spaces for organizing lectures and short-term exhibitions, which NPÚ staff primarily aims to use to bring the heritage fund of the region closer to the public. There are also plans for the renewal of a memorial site commemorating the victims during the occupation, and a smaller exhibition will be dedicated to the fate of the building during those years.

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Historical significance of the building
The two-winged reinforced concrete skeleton, a modernist building with puristic forms and a classicist composition at Odboje Street No. 1 / Moravská Ostrava No. 1941 is the former building of the District Social and Health Institute. The architectural competition for its construction was won in 1931 by architect Karel Roštík, who then elaborated the implementation project together with Jaroslav Stockar-Bernkopf. The building was completed in 1933.
Its further fate was tumultuous - in 1939 the building was handed over to the secret state police (Gestapo), which established its headquarters in the main wing. During the war, the building was damaged by bombing and subsequently misused by the Soviet and Czechoslovak armies. After the war, the District Institute of National Health moved into the building, and until recently, the building was used for healthcare purposes - it housed the hospital directorate and doctors' offices. The building is listed in the Central Register of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic.