The use of Prague's railway station buildings will be addressed at a professional conference

Prague - The renewal and use of Prague's train station buildings will be the topic of an international conference in Prague. On Thursday, March 8, the event will be hosted by the Prague city hall, where domestic and foreign experts will gather. Attendees will include, for example, Minister of Transport Pavel Dobeš and Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda. A thematic exhibition at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery will also be part of the one-day conference.
    "While in Western Europe we see countless conversions of railway facilities that meet the current demands of visitors or customers, in the Czech Republic, these facilities, often large extensive areas, are perceived in many cases as a burden," the conference organizers from the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery, the Research Center for Industrial Heritage of the Czech Technical University, and the civic association "Tady není developerovo" explain the reasons for holding the conference. The project is also supported by the Ministry of Transport and the capital city.
    "The aim is to find solutions on how to maximally effectively utilize the potential of these historic areas for the benefit of the general public instead of their liquidation," stated organizer Benjamin Fragner. During the conference, there will be opportunities to draw inspiration, among other things, from successful revitalizations of transport and industrial areas in partner cities of Prague and in European metropolises such as Hamburg, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rotterdam, and Vienna.
    Topics for discussion will include how to preserve train station buildings that no longer serve their original purpose in the long term, or how to revive the old Smíchov, Bubeneč, and Žižkov stations, as well as Masaryk Station. Foreign architects, urban planners, and developers will come to share their experiences with transforming railway properties.
    The conference will be preceded by the opening of an exhibition at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery. Projects for the transformation of significant Prague railway areas from leading architectural studios will be presented. Visitors will also see the results of a student workshop, which focused on the new use of the endangered Žižkov freight station.
    The conference on the project Prague Stations Not/Used will take place on Thursday, March 8. The related exhibition will be open to the public from March 7 to 13.