Pardubice approved the construction of polytechnic workshops and a gallery

Pardubice - The representatives of Pardubice today approved the plan for the construction of Central Polytechnic Workshops and the Gallery of the City of Pardubice in the area of the former Automatic Mills. It should cost 351 million crowns including VAT. The facility is expected to be operational in 2023.

In the mills' area, the city purchased the former flour warehouse. After renovation, spaces for the gallery will be created on the ground floor, while the upper structure will house the polytechnic workshops. School workshops and laboratories will be used by students who will undergo modern education in natural science and technical fields, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, informatics, and geography. It will take the form of animation, experiential, experimental, or project methods.

The screening room will feature something called Science on a Globe, an interactive model of the Earth onto which the Earth's surface can be projected, explaining earthquakes, sea routes, or ocean currents. The device will also allow the study of the Sun and planets. Workshops in collaboration with the University of Hradec Králové will create 115 educational programs.

The Gallery of the City of Pardubice currently resides in Příhrádku in a historic building that is insufficient for its needs. It currently has 270 square meters available, while in the mills it should have 410 square meters.

The construction part of the project will cost more than 254 million crowns, while the equipment with tools, educational programs, and IT technologies will amount to 97 million crowns. Pardubice will receive about 208 million crowns for the project from European subsidies.

The Automatic Mills, built according to the design of architect Josef Gočár, are a national technical monument. The mills ceased production at the end of 2013. In 2016, the Smetana couple purchased the area for 22 million crowns, who two years later sold part of the area to the city. Other facilities were purchased in 2017 by the Pardubice Region for the East Bohemian Gallery, which has already begun renovation.