Usain Bolt baptized Pleskot's converter of the blast furnace in Ostrava

Ostrava - The unique structure added to the former blast furnace in the heritage-protected Lower Vítkovice area (DOV) in Ostrava is now named Bolt Tower, or Screw Tower. It was christened by the phenomenal Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who will be racing in the 200 meters at the Golden Spike meeting in the city on Tuesday, May 26. The structure includes an observation terrace, a café, and a club.
    Bolt said that visiting the blast furnace and the viewpoints was very educational for him. "But it was a bit scary, the empty space beneath you," he said. According to him, the combination of old industry and education is absolutely unique, and he recommends everyone to go see it. The fact that the tower would bear his name was a surprise for Bolt, but he was pleased with it.
    The name was chosen by the DOV association from more than a thousand proposals submitted in the competition. Among the proposals were names like Skleněnka, Pecka, or Rubikon, some of which were repeated. "But there was only one proposal for Bolt Tower. After a moment of thought, we realized that it was a brilliant name because in English it can be translated as screw, but also as a flash from the sky, and that is probably what it was," said DOV director Petr Koudela.
    The author of the winning proposal is Daniel Hladký, who stated that while contemplating the name, he arrived at geometric shapes and the word screw, which immediately struck him as boldly healthy. "As soon as I realized the English equivalent bolt, it reminded me in the context of the Golden Spike that it was almost a sign, and I submitted the name to the competition," Hladký said.
    The glass structure atop the blast furnace has not only become a new landmark of Ostrava but also the highest geographical point in the city. Visitors have a view from nearly 80 meters high. The architect of the structure is Josef Pleskot, who is the chief architect of the former industrial complex in Lower Vítkovice, where he has also transformed a former gas tank into a multifunctional hall and created the Great World of Technology.
    The structure itself is about 25 meters high. The original blast furnace remains intact because the new structure is suspended from it. According to the author, the structure is an architectural symbol of fire, which always blazed above the furnace when a large volume of blast furnace gas was produced. The construction of the new structure cost about 60 million crowns, with a larger part covered by European grants.
    Usain Bolt will be competing at the Golden Spike for the seventh time. He says the event is his favorite and he always enjoys returning to Ostrava. In 2009, he captivated the crowd with a 9.77-second time in the shortest sprint, despite having a tailwind above the allowable limit. He was last in Ostrava in 2012.