Lectures at the wastewater treatment plant will highlight industrial monuments

Prague - On February 25, a block of lectures titled "Let’s Not Be Afraid of Industry" will take place in the old sewage treatment plant in Prague-Bubench. The aim of the organizers is to draw attention to monuments of industrial architecture, which are also evidence of history and cultural heritage, yet stand aside from public interest compared to traditional cultural monuments.
The lecture afternoon is organized by the Eco-Technical Museum, which is located in the former treatment plant, and the National Heritage Institute. Architects David Vávra, Tomáš Šenberger, and Pavel Prouza will lecture. The program will also include a chance to visit the currently unused space of the main operational building, which is being transformed into a coffee exhibition and industrial café. Those interested in attending the lectures should reserve spots at the NPÚ press department in Prague by February 19.
NPÚ aims to focus more on industrial monuments in the first half of this year, with the theme of its media campaign being endangered monuments, among which industrial buildings represent a large percentage. The architecture that recalls the industrial period is not only on the fringe of interest among the lay public, but even experts are not united in their views on its protection. Some easily succumb to the pressures of developers, as they see former industrial sites as an easy opportunity for new building plots. For this reason, guardians of industrial heritage welcome the economic crisis, which forces developers to save and not to buy up and later demolish additional buildings.
Often, saving industrial buildings cannot be achieved even by declaring them a cultural monument, although this makes their reconstruction or demolition more difficult. Of the approximately 40,000 immovable cultural monuments in the Czech Republic, around 3,000 are industrial monuments.
Although public and some builders' awareness of the values of industrial architecture has increased, 130 industrial objects and complexes have disappeared during this time. Buildings are being demolished in the very center of Prague, namely in the city’s heritage reserve listed on the UNESCO list, such as a printing house in Opletalova Street. In this case, the owner demolished the cultural monument - and then, at his request, the ministry removed the monument protection from the house, as there was nothing left to protect.
The Prague Biennale Industrial Footprints has been highlighting industrial monuments and possibilities for their new use for eight years, leading to more discussions about industrial architecture. Several of these buildings are also on the list of national cultural monuments, thus in the company of, for example, Czech crown jewels. This week, the Bubeneč sewage treatment plant also made it onto this list.