Workers are repairing the glass hall of Machoň's secondary school in Pardubice

Pardubice - The reconstruction of the Secondary School of Electrical Engineering in Pardubice has begun with the renovation of the glass hall, which will cost 57 million crowns. The construction company faces a challenging replacement of all original electrical installations. The cultural monument was designed by architect Ladislav Machoň and is one of the landmarks of downtown Pardubice. Ladislav Štěpánek, the school's director, said this today to ČTK.
    "The wall is original. It is still honest craftsmanship. The panels are riveted, and as water flowed in, there was a danger of injury," said Štěpánek.
    The school was built in the 1920s. Machoň had the greatest influence on the appearance of the city center, designing six buildings in Pardubice. The architect is also the author of the villa of the Čapek brothers in Prague.
    The electrical installations in the former technical school are still original and need to be replaced. "The lighting no longer meets the standards. The lights have an insufficient number of lux. We will be replacing all power distribution, and all information networks will be reconstructed," said Štěpánek.
    The work is scheduled over two years. The networks are expected to start being modernized from August. Key distribution boards, which require extensive demolition work, could be completed by the construction company during the summer holidays. "Then we would always release the relevant wing, demolition work would always occur in the afternoons and on Saturdays and Sundays. Network installations would be done during the day," said Štěpánek.
    The former state technical school has an ochre-colored base, the coping tower is clad in copper sheets and decorated with decorative tiles. The building has spacious classrooms, wide corridors, and tiered lecture halls, similar to those in universities. The school was constructed between 1925 and 1929. In 1974, a workshop pavilion, laboratories, and computer science facilities were completed. An additional extension dates from 1985.
    "We are the largest school in the Pardubice Region, currently we have 1043 students," added Štěpánek.