On the building of the regional office in Pardubice, there will again be yellow tiles

Pardubice - Two months later, workers began placing replicas of the original 100-year-old yellow cladding on the historic building of the regional office in Pardubice. Part of the originally supplied material had to be claimed by the construction company. The building, designed by Ladislav Machoň, is being renovated by the regional government. The work will be completed by the end of the year. Roman Línek (Coalition for Pardubice Region), the deputy governor, stated this to ČTK.

The original cladding was produced in the 1920s by a company in Kadaň. After approximately 100 years, three quarters of it no longer adhered to the substrate. Their replicas were imitated by the successor of the original company, but faced issues with technology. Consequently, the construction work supplier had to claim several pallets of cladding.

"Part of the building facing the Republic Square has already brightened up after the scaffolding was removed, and the reconstruction is approaching completion. There are refurbished windows including metalwork, repaired cornices, facades, and replaced cladding. Expansion joints that were previously absent have been created, which will allow the facade to work subsequently," said Línek.

Currently, restoration work has begun on cleaning the granite plinth, followed by possible repairs of the facade painting. The painting of the facade is hindered at the corner of the building by an unexpected failure of the waterproof insulation on the balcony on the first floor at the corner. After the repair, the entire area will first need to dry, and only then can the facade be painted there as well.

The side of the building facing Jahnova Street is more complex. After erecting scaffolding and detailed inspection, the contractor found that the condition of the windows was much worse than expected. They also repaired the cornices, for which it was necessary to build special scaffolding for heavy machinery. Over the last few years, plaster had been falling off from the long cracked cornices, so they had been covered with nets for some time. "The building was constructed at a time when traffic was not as dense and heavy, and in some places the changes in underground water levels are also evident," added Línek. The construction, costing 29 million crowns, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The history of the building begins after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, when the General Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs in Prague decided to establish six territorial offices. Pardubice was chosen for East Bohemia. Machoň designed an extensive building in the style of national decorativeism for the office. Foundation work began in the autumn of 1923 and was completed in 1925.

The building served its purpose until 1939 when it was seized by the Germans, who established the Oberlandrat there, that is, the office of the upper land council. Until the end of the war, the Pardubice Gestapo was based there. After the war, the building was returned to Czechoslovak authorities. In 1949, the Regional National Committee moved in, followed by the District National Committee after its dissolution, and after 1992, the District Office. Since 2011, it has been owned by the Pardubice Region, which, for example, also rents spaces to the Pardubice City Hall.