Pardubice Region selected the proposal for the reconstruction of the secondary school with a passageway object

Pardubice - The Pardubice region already knows how it will transform the dilapidated building of the old secondary school in the city center. In a public competition, it selected the design of architects Pavel and Petr Maleř from Pardubice, which includes a passage for pedestrians and cyclists. According to the first deputy governor Roman Línek, the ground floor will be used for the public, while offices for regional officials will be created on the upper floors.
"The design has cleaned the building of the secondary school from later extensions while preserving its symmetry," Línek described the architectural vision. A hall for the public is to be created in one wing of the ground floor, while an exhibition space will be in the other. According to the regional leadership, the architects were the only ones to propose leading a passage for pedestrians and cyclists through the building. Until now, the secondary school offered only a narrow passage in close proximity to the busy Jahnova street.
The Pardubice region originally considered using the dilapidated secondary school, designed by architect Josef Schmoranz and built in the mid-19th century, for a modern art gallery. It either wanted to completely renovate it or tear it down and build an entirely new structure. For that, it had a government resolution from 2002 promising a grant of 178 million CZK. However, members of the Pardubice Museum Association opposed this, suggesting to the Ministry of Culture that the building be registered as a protected cultural monument. When they were unsuccessful, they blocked the handling of the secondary school with a lawsuit against the ministry. Therefore, the region preferred to back down, and it turned out that transforming the school into a modern gallery would be very difficult, prompting them to look for other uses for the building. Since the region is using the premises of the former district office, which is still state-owned and under contract only until 2008, it is looking for a place where, if necessary, it could relocate its officials.
About 150 regional employees could fit into the upper floors of the renovated secondary school. The reconstruction costs are estimated at 100 to 120 million CZK. The competition designs, including the winning one, will be exhibited from December 12 at the regional information center Pardubice Region Tourism in Republic Square. Interested parties will be able to view them until January 6 of the following year.