In Ostrava, the Great World of Technology has temporarily opened today

Ostrava - The newly completed Great World of Technology was opened today in the Lower Vítkovice area in Ostrava. However, the building will only be open to the public for a week; installation of the interior and exhibits will begin afterwards. The unusually architecturally conceived building was symbolically opened on the anniversary of the birth of the scientist Albert Einstein, said Eva Kijonková from the Lower Vítkovice Association to ČTK.
    The Great World of Technology will, upon its completion, represent the functioning of natural laws and scientific discoveries in an interactive manner. It will complement the interactive playroom in the U6 building, which is called the Small World of Technology and is built in the spirit of Jules Verne.
    The building was designed by the renowned Czech architect Josef Pleskot, who intends to participate in guided tours prepared for the public. The extraordinary opening of the building, which will be accessible until next Thursday, is also connected with the screening of a time-lapse film about the creation of a modern architectural work and with lectures on interesting aspects of Einstein's theories and the vicissitudes of his life. Moreover, the public now has the chance to access areas that they will not be able to visit after the building opens.
    "They will also get access to areas beyond the main exhibition spaces, including places where the educational facilities are located, and they will gain an idea of what the technical background of the 14,000 square meter building looks like," Kijonková stated.
    According to her, the association wanted to show the building without exhibits to also please architecture enthusiasts. "The World of Technology building is sparse and minimalist in its expression, but it offers a maximalist experience. In the industrial area of Lower Vítkovice, it forms a kind of corner where knowledge from humanity that constitutes the foundations of our civilization will be inserted in the form of educational exhibits," said architect Josef Pleskot.
    The building has the floor plan of an isosceles triangle, and among its unconventional features is a glass mirrored facade measuring 125 meters in length and 12.5 meters in height, which reflects the surrounding industrial buildings.
    The five-story building began construction in the spring of 2012 and includes lecture halls, exhibition spaces, classrooms, laboratories, offices, and a cinema with a capacity for 200 spectators.
    "Next to the cinema is also a lecture hall with seating and a stage, where teaching can take place with interactive experiments and games. It accommodates 80 to 100 people. We colloquially refer to the hall as the theater of science," said Jakub Švrček, director of the World of Technology.
    The Great World of Technology will include four permanent sections: the World of Science and Discoveries, the Children's World, the World of Civilization, and the World of Nature. The start of operations is planned for the end of September. The construction of the entire center will cost approximately 580 million crowns, with the construction itself costing a quarter of a billion crowns.