In the Ostrava Lower Vítkovice area, a unique World of Technology will be established

Ostrava - A unique World of Technology will be created in the industrial Lower Vítkovice area of Ostrava. The scientific and educational complex will consist of a museum formed after the reconstruction of the VI. Energy Central. Its second building will be a new construction of a scientific and educational center designed by architect Josef Pleskot. The third part of the World of Technology will be an energy center, which will reveal real energy production to visitors.
The entire engineering project of VÍTKOVICE will cost just under one billion crowns, said Jan Světlík, the company's general director, to ČTK.
"The World of Technology will be unique in Europe due to the connection of a national cultural monument, which includes the VI. energy central, with real energy production and a modern educational center, so-called Science Learning Center," explained Lenka Mynářová, who is involved in the preparation of the World of Technology project.
According to her, its goal is to bring children and adults closer to technical fields, particularly those rooted in the region - such as engineering. The World of Technology will be designed for children from two years old, but also for adults. "There is an enormous hunger for such centers in the country. Our research shows that 92 percent of respondents would visit it repeatedly," added Mynářová.
The new modern building designed by Pleskot will offer visitors approximately 10,000 square meters of educational space. The wall of the new building will transform into a "mirror" measuring 13 by 125 meters, in which neighboring heritage sites will be reflected - besides the energy central, also a defunct blast furnace and a gas holder, which will be converted into a congress center for 1,500 people after reconstruction.
"The energy center itself will also be impressive, which architect Pleskot proposes to open up so that visitors can see the aggregates directly through glass walls and learn how water is purified and energy is produced," Mynářová added, stating that the entire World of Technology will be trilingual - in Czech, Polish, and English.
According to Světlík, the complex should serve not only for education but should also become a tourist attraction. "Within a 100-kilometer radius from Ostrava, there are over ten million people living. We expect that the annual attendance of the World of Technology will be around 400,000 people," he added. A team of many experts, including those from Ostrava universities and Moravian-Silesian clusters, has been working on the preparation of the entire project for two years, according to him.
The reconstruction of the VI. energy central will cost approximately 170 million crowns, the new construction of the scientific and educational center around half a billion, and the reconstruction of the energy center another approximately 250 million crowns.
"However, the World of Technology cannot be realized as a private investment. We cannot expect it to be profitable. European Science Learning Centers cover their costs up to 30 percent," Světlík pointed out, adding that the project anticipates support from the Moravian-Silesian Region, the city of Ostrava, and companies associated in industry clusters. The association Lower Vítkovice, consisting of companies from the VÍTKOVICE HOLDING group and the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, will also apply for European funding in June.
According to Mynářová, building centers that popularize science and research is a significant trend worldwide. "For example, in China, 750 such centers were established in the past year. In the Czech Republic, there are currently two operational - IQ Park in Liberec and Technomania in Plzeň. The Czech Republic can accommodate a maximum of five of them," she added.
The World of Technology is part of a vast development project called New Vítkovice, which will require up to 60 billion crowns. The company VÍTKOVICE, which owns the industrial area near the center of Ostrava, initiated it this year after receiving a grant of 500 million crowns from the state and the European Union for the restoration of the first industrial monuments. The area encompasses 11 hectares of heritage-protected land, which has become a European cultural heritage site. On the remaining 140 hectares, a cultural and social complex with scientific workplaces, a university center, and public sports facilities will be created.