The center for the visually impaired in Olomouc cost the region 250 million

For architect Vladimír Vychodil, the new building was a challenge.

Olomouc - A kindergarten for 15 children, a primary school for more than 100 students, a dormitory, a gym, and an outdoor playground make up the new Educational Center for the Visually Impaired, which was ceremonially opened yesterday in Olomouc. Its construction, planned since 1999, cost the Olomouc Region more than 250 million crowns and was the largest investment project completed by the regional government in recent years. According to the school director Jiří Müller, it is an exceptional facility in the country.
     "The uniqueness lies in the fact that it is a newly built facility specifically designed for visually impaired individuals. There has not been such a school in the modern history of the Czech Republic. The building in Litovel, where we were previously located, was not originally a school building; it was absolutely inadequate. There was no gym, playground, specialized classrooms, and similar facilities. If this project had not been realized, the school would have gone into decline and eventually ceased to exist," the director told ČTK.
     In the school, over 100 students will be educated, and 30 children will live in the dormitory. The children have access to a ceramics workshop, a practice route for spatial orientation, training kitchens, a dining hall, and an outdoor playground. The facilities will also be available to individuals who lost their sight in adulthood. "Blind people get used to walking on various surfaces in the practice area. Equipped this way, they can then venture out into the field," the director noted.
     According to him, the goal of the center is not only to provide children with basic education but also to prepare the visually impaired for independent living outside the facility. The center will cater not only to the visually impaired but also to children with learning disabilities from the Olomouc Region, as well as from the Zlín and Pardubice Regions.
     The new building was also a challenge for architect Vladimír Vychodil, who had to modify the project several times over the course of 13 years. "We were working on such a school for the first time and drew on experiences from abroad. We emphasized a home-like environment in the housing, so that the child could receive all protective elements and adopt all necessary habits. In the end, we chose a multifunctional facility that will also be open to the broader disabled public. Everything is colorful because visually impaired people perceive colors differently. Experts advised us on what colors to choose to fulfill their purpose," the architect stated.
Construction began in January 2001, and the facility will be fully operational at the start of the school year.
     The school is named after the prominent ophthalmologist and head of the eye department in Olomouc, Václav Vejdovský, who advocated for the establishment of the special school.