Sample transformation of a functionalist building into a new headquarters for Ostrava's heritage preservationists

The building, which reflects the interwar boom of Ostrava's architecture, will, from autumn this year, provide a background for the professionals of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) and their scientific research activities (including the storage of archaeological finds in a modern extension adapted for depots) as well as the public, who can attend lecture series and exhibitions or utilize the library and research facilities in the adapted spaces.
The modernist building from the early 1930s was declared a cultural monument in 2010. The National Heritage Institute's regional office in Ostrava began renovating it in 2012 based on the designs of architect Pavel Hřebecký and the project of the MS architects firm. Despite the fundamental principle of preserving and rehabilitating the heritage values of the quality building, the modifications also had to include improvements to the building's structural and thermal insulation properties. The construction received insulation against rising water, drainage was installed around the perimeter, and the base masonry was dried and repaired. The flat roofs, basement floors, and exterior walls received thermal insulation. The use of Kooltherm phenolic boards allowed for the thickness of insulation to be minimized and a colored scratched plaster that corresponds to the original brizolite plaster with mica was applied to the façade. The outer wings of the original windows were fitted with insulating double glazing, “front walls” with insulating double glazing were created in the side staircases, and the glazed wall at the main staircase was replaced with a replica made of steel profiles filled with insulating double glazing.



The modifications of the exteriors and interiors followed the general principle of heritage care to preserve all original structures, elements, and details; in the case of irreversible damage, they are to be replaced with copies. The layout was also designed to respect the original arrangement as much as possible. Thus, some modern partitions were removed, and a brick elevator shaft was replaced with a more discreet glazed shaft, etc. Very high-quality restoration of the window and door fillings was achieved, and the coverings, floor tiles, and floors made of poured terrazzo were restored and complemented, along with the repair of stair railings, window and door fittings, and original cast iron radiators. An important aspect for illustrating the earlier expression of the building was also the suggestive restoration of the colors of the interiors. Among the most interesting and valuable parts of the current residence of the Ostrava office of the National Heritage Institute is the meeting room on the top floor, where restorers restored the wooden wall cladding, original oak parquet, and veneered doors.
The southern wing of the building, completed after World War II, was completely reconstructed and will now house archaeological finds from the salvage archaeological research of the Ostrava office of the NPÚ. The low-energy depot, equipped with a modern shelving system, automatic fire extinguishing, and security systems, will ensure proper care for valuable artifacts from dozens of prehistoric to early medieval sites. It will also accommodate an extensive collection of finds from research of the historic cores of cities and many heritage-protected objects in the Moravian-Silesian border area.
“Following last year's completion of the renovation of the Stiassni villa in Brno, known as the 'government villa', the building on Odboje street in Ostrava is the second exemplary renovation of a building from the first half of the 20th century that the National Heritage Institute has recently completed. In its new form, the current residence of the Ostrava office of the NPÚ can present not only the qualities of this unassuming representative of early 20th-century architecture but also the ability of contemporary architects and builders to harmonize heritage values with contemporary needs and to connect the environment of the monument with modern expressive means,” adds former director of the Ostrava office, Naďa Goryczková, now the general director of the National Heritage Institute.
The building of the District Social and Health Institute, designed by architect Karel Roštík, won second prize in an architectural competition held in 1931 (with no first prize being awarded by the jury). The project was revised for the implementation phase by architect Jaroslav Stockar-Bernkopf, and the construction was completed at the end of 1932; the official opening took place only in January 1934. During the Protectorate, the main wing of the building housed the Gestapo. Until the liberation of the city at the end of April 1945, interrogations and torture of individuals of various beliefs and convictions took place there, making this period the most tragic phase in the history of the building. A memorial site at the main entrance will commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution, with its ceremonial presentation taking place on the state holiday of November 17.

Architecture and its values will be featured in a section of the exhibition "Heritage Specialties. Care for industrial, modern, and rural architecture" presented by the National Heritage Institute at the PAMÁTKY 2015 fair, which will take place on October 22-23 this year at the Exhibition Grounds in Prague.

Photograph of the interior of the current NPÚ office in Ostrava from 1936, when it served as the District Social and Health Institute