MUSEum+ in Ostrava will participate in European research on architecture reconstruction

Ostrava - MUSEum+, a new museum in Ostrava established by the Ministry of Culture, has succeeded in a prestigious European grant competition and will participate in the research of modern architectural heritage reconstruction. Non-invasive measurements and the application of thermal plasters and other materials will be carried out in the former control room of one of the blast furnaces in the Lower Area of Vítkovice. The museum's director, Jaroslav Dvořák, said this today to ČTK. In Ostrava and three other Mediterranean locations, the materials' behavior will be monitored under different climatic conditions.

"Ostrava will be one of four locations - together with Madrid, Rhodes, and Tel Aviv - where the procedures proposed by the research consortium will be practically verified," the director stated. Several universities are involved in the consortium, such as University College London, the University of Sheffield, and the Polytechnic University of Milan, as well as private companies like up2metric and Titan Cement. The entire project is coordinated by the National Research Center Demokritos in Athens.

The project is planned for the years 2024-2026, with a total budget of 4.9 million euros for the 18 involved partners, which is approximately 120 million crowns.

"The objective of the project is to investigate and practically test new construction and thermal insulation plasters and technologies that will be suitable for the reconstruction of 20th-century architectural heritage and will also be climate neutral," Dvořák stated. The Horizon Europe project aims to fulfill ambitions for zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The state MUSEum+ should in the future exhibit collection items from other national museums that are currently stored in warehouses with no space for their display. It is the first state cultural organization in the Moravian-Silesian region. The museum is set to be established in the Lower Area of Vítkovice in the structures of blast furnaces number 4 and 6, which are national cultural monuments and whose preservation is its goal.

The newly established organization is preparing a project for the area's revitalization and its funding from European funds. It is to be one of the strategic projects of the Just Transformation program in the region. "Unfortunately, we have not submitted it yet. We are having trouble obtaining co-financing from the founder, the Ministry of Culture. If everything goes well, project documentation would be prepared this year and next," Dvořák said.

Participation in European research is, according to him, a great opportunity for the preservation of blast furnaces 4 and 6. Currently, this monument belongs to Vítkovice, a.s. MUSEum+ has the owner's consent for the European project to be realized in one part.