The Chamber of Architects wants to preserve the Havířov train station

Chairman of the Czech Chamber of Architects Petr Lešek

Prague - A quality transportation building, of which there are not many in the country, is according to the Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) the train station building in Havířov. While in December the Czech Railways backed away from plans to demolish the station, last week the company changed its mind, and the station, which is a unique testament to 1960s architecture, is once again under threat. The Chamber therefore turned to Minister of Transport Antonín Prachař to advocate for the preservation and reconstruction of the existing train station building in Havířov.
   "The residents of the city deserve it," writes Chairman of ČKA Petr Lešek. "The architecture of the 1960s has undergone expert reflection in terms of heritage care and from the perspective of architectural history, and it is relatively clear what criteria to use for its assessment. The Havířov station clearly meets them," he states.
   A similar opinion is held by architecture theorist Adam Gebrian, who, among other things, focuses on popularizing quality buildings. "The Havířov station is a beautiful and high-quality building. It's in poor condition and has many problems. It must be said, however - problems that are solvable. Reconstruction and adaptation are almost always more challenging in our environment than simple demolition and replacement. But for quality buildings, I consider them the only right way," he told ČTK.
   According to him, it was sad and inefficient that the city of Havířov and ČD spent a lot of time preparing a plan to replace the existing station with a new terminal. "They still have a chance to rectify their mistake and utilize the experience gained in preparing the plan in a new assignment for an architectural competition that would seek improvements to the current state of the station and better connections to the broader surroundings," Gebrian believes. "I'm sure it is possible. At the beginning, however, there must be an understanding that a beautiful train station building has greater value than the resources spent on its replacement. After all, the building is not an obstacle to improving the current situation," he concluded.
   The station is the work of Josef Hrejsemnou (1928 to 2010) and was built between 1964 and 1969. According to Lešek, the dimension of the site is also important for the Havířov building. For similar locations, he believes that quality modern architecture has even greater significance than it would have for traditional, historically-based cities. The very center of Havířov, built in the style of socialist realism, was declared a protected zone in 1992. "Demolishing the Havířov station would have a similar negative impact as the demolition of the Prague-Těšnov station in the 1980s," reminds the architect of the well-known intervention in Prague's architecture.
   In June 2013, outgoing Minister of Culture Alena Hanáková did not declare the Havířov train station a heritage site, contrary to the recommendation of the expert committee of her ministry. "According to information from ČKA, this happened because the property owner, Czech Railways, expressed disagreement with the status of a heritage site. However, the lack of designation as a heritage site is not an assessment of the quality of the building, just a methodological guide for its care and the possibility of obtaining grants from the Ministry of Culture for its repairs," Lešek states.
   Former Minister of Transport Zdeněk Žák was against the demolition of the station building. Already in September, he stated that the railways currently do not have the funds for the demolition of the building and construction of a new transportation terminal. However, the supervisory board of Czech Railways (ČD) has now changed its December verdict and decided to revive the halted project for the construction of a new transportation terminal. Due to this, the current station building is to be demolished.
   The terminal is a joint project of the city and ČD. If it were not built and the station building were preserved, ČD were allegedly prepared to reimburse the city for the expenses incurred related to the project documentation. However, the supervisory board of ČD has now agreed that terminating the contract with Havířov would cause financial losses.
   For several years, an association called Důl architektury has been striving to save the rarely preserved building. They continue to believe that they can convince the new Minister of Transport and the management of ČD that the economically and socially responsible solution is not demolition and construction of a new terminal, but the reconstruction of the existing building, including reducing its energy intensity and subsequent use for commercial and socially beneficial purposes.