Analysis will indicate the possibilities for the reconstruction and use of the Žižkov train station

Prague - The Žižkov Town Hall has signed an agreement with the joint-stock company Žižkov station development, based on which a detailed analysis will be prepared regarding the monumentally protected Žižkov Freight Station. The material, which is to be completed by the end of the year, will suggest options for utilizing the building, including as a cultural and educational center. It will also answer the question of how much the reconstruction would cost and will serve as a basis for the development of an architectural proposal. This was reported by ČTK based on the resolution of the Žižkov councilors.
    There have been turbulent discussions about the fate of the functionalist building for several years. The company Žižkov station development, formed by the merger of Czech Railways and Sekyra Group, planned extensive construction that would have replaced the station. However, part of both the professional and lay public opposed demolition. In the spring of this year, the Ministry of Culture ultimately decided that the station, which stands on large unused plots of land, must be preserved. The original plans for the construction of a new urban district still stand. The station will become its center.
    However, the question of further utilization of the enormous monumentally protected building has opened up. There are also uncertainties about who would finance any takeover and reconstruction. "That is precisely why we had the analysis prepared, which should answer all these questions," said Matěj Stropnický, Deputy Mayor of Prague 3, in response to a ČTK inquiry. "This involves preparing a legal analysis and a proposal for the transfer of the building to a legal entity suitably grouping non-profit entities," he stated. It will also include a construction and technical assessment.
    The town hall and some non-profit organizations are striving for the building to become a center of cultural activities. The previously discussed location for the National Film Archive (NFÚ) remains in the mix. According to Stropnický, the spaces could be used by libraries, galleries, archives, and could serve for organizing exhibitions, concerts, or workshops.
    Leoš Anderle from Sekyra Group sees a path in the connection of the non-profit sector with the commercial one. State institutions should also help. "The costs of conversion, given the size of the building, exceed the capabilities of the district and the developer," he told ČTK.
    According to experts, the building from the 1930s was among the most modern of its kind in Europe both in terms of technology and architecture.