Cultivate space: Quo vadis, urban baths?

Within the long-term lecture series "City Transformation," organized by the Plzeň association Pěstuj prostor, a public debate will take place on Thursday, December 8, at 6 PM at Moving Station in Plzeň. During this event, renowned experts will discuss the future of the municipal baths building in Plzeň and the intention to adapt it for the needs of the West Bohemian Gallery and other institutions. The immediate impetus for organizing the debate was the purchase of the municipal baths building by the Plzeň Region in October of this year.
In the introductory presentation, architect Jan Soukup (Ateliér Soukup Opl Švehla) will introduce the building itself. His detailed knowledge of the structure stems from a previous proposal to adapt the baths into a hotel with wellness facilities, later revised into a project for a residential building that he prepared with colleagues from the studio. In the following discussion, aside from Jan Soukup, architectural historian and industrial archaeologist Benjamin Fragner will participate. He is the founder and director of the Research Center for Industrial Heritage at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague, where he will contribute his knowledge and experience regarding the conversion of buildings for similar purposes and will address the opportunities and risks of such projects.
Heritage expert Jaroslav Zeman from the National Heritage Institute in Liberec will share experiences from similar realizations, particularly the adaptation of the former baths building in Liberec for the Liberec Regional Gallery. Ondřej Zatloukal, director of the Olomouc Museum of Art, will talk about the current challenges faced by museum and gallery institutions, the environment they require, and how new spaces can expand their operations.
Architect Petr Lešek will focus on the procedural aspects of the matter during the discussion. As the vice-chairman of the Czech Chamber of Architects, he will primarily represent the viewpoint of this institution. The Plzeň Region as the event's investor will be represented in the debate by Deputy Governor for Environment and Regional Development Josef Bernard.
The admission fee for the event is 50 CZK, and tickets will be available on-site and in advance at plzenskavstupenka.cz or GoOut.cz. The lecture is supported by the city of Plzeň and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Panelist biographies:
Ing. arch. Jan Soukup is an architect mainly active in the Plzeň Region. He has long been dedicated to the protection of church monuments, especially in the Plzeň Region, and is the author or co-author of many of their reconstructions. He studied architecture at CTU, where he also pursued postgraduate studies in Heritage Restoration. Since 1968, he worked at KPO Stavoprojekt, where he became the chief designer in 1983 and director from 1990 to 1991. He subsequently founded a private design office (now Ateliér Soukup Opl Švehla), which he still leads. His significant works include the reconstruction of the West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň and the renovation of Republic Square in Plzeň. He is a member of professional organizations and civic associations (Klášter Chotěšov) and is engaged in publishing, lecturing, and exhibition activities. He has received numerous awards for his work, including induction into the Hall of Fame of the Plzeň Region in 2018 and the Jože Plečnik Award for lifelong contributions to architecture and construction that same year.
PhDr. Benjamin Fragner is an architectural historian and industrial archaeologist. He studied at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague. In 1985, he defended his rigorous thesis and obtained the title of PhDr. He worked as an editor and later as the editor-in-chief of the Technical Magazine. In 1986, he founded the Industrial Heritage Protection Section at the National Technical Museum. He is a member of the scientific board of the NTM and a correspondent for the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage TICCIH. He holds the position of chair of the Industrial Heritage Commission at the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and is a member of the permanent commission for evaluating proposals for declaring items as cultural monuments. His long-term interest lies in the possibilities of saving industrial heritage and its further utilization. Since 1998, he has been the editor-in-chief of the journal Forum of Architecture and Construction; since 2002, he has been leading the Research Center for Industrial Heritage at CTU in Prague. He contributes professional articles to various journals. In 2021, he received the Ministry of Culture Award for his contributions to architecture and for initiating and leading long-term research on industrial heritage and professional popularization of its findings.
Ing. arch. Petr Lešek is an architect and the founder of the studio Projektil architekti, which has designed a number of public and private buildings and spaces, such as the National Technical Library in Prague, the Study and Scientific Library in Hradec Králové, the Center for Ecological Activities Sluňákov in Olomouc, the Maxipes Fík Embankment in Kadaň, the revitalization of the center of Prague – Slivenec, the Klášterní Gardens Park in Chrudim, the YSoft headquarters in Brno, and the Community Center in Mnichovo Hradiště. Since 2009, he has been a member of the Czech Chamber of Architects. From 2011 to 2014, he was a member of the board of the ČKA, and in 2014, he served as the chair of the board. Since 2011, he has been a member of the working group of the ČKA Competition. He focuses on the Public Procurement Act, Smart Cities issues, and Architecture Policy for the ČKA. Since 2020, he has again been a board member of the ČKA and its vice-chairman. Since 2021, he has been the chair of the Sustainability working group of the ČKA. At the Faculty of Architecture at CTU, he is working on a doctoral thesis focused on Caring for the Environment of Small and Medium Cities. He engages in architectural awareness during the Architecture Day in Písek, at workshops in elementary schools, and through outreach to political parties. He was a member of the city development commission in Písek and the city development commission in Prague 10.
Mgr. Jaroslav Zeman is an art historian from Liberec and Prague. After dabbling in applied arts at the Secondary School of Art in Frýdlant and the Secondary School of Art and Design in Jablonec nad Nisou, he studied art history at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University under Ing. Petr Mack Ph.D. He specializes in the long-neglected architectural heritage of the Sudetes and aims to contribute even slightly to the popularization and rehabilitation of his birthplace, the former second capital and first German city of Bohemia. He works as a heritage expert at the National Heritage Institute at the regional office in Liberec. As part of the project OKRES///BEZIRK, focusing on the architecture of cities in northern Bohemia, he manages databases of sister web projects Liberec:Reichenberg and Jablonec|||Gablonz.
Mgr. Ondřej Zatloukal is an art historian and the current director of the Olomouc Museum of Art. He studied art history at the Faculty of Arts of Palacký University with a specialization in the history of garden culture. He has been professionally active at the Olomouc Museum of Art since 2000. Under his leadership, the reconstruction of the most significant baroque garden in the Czech Republic, the Květná Garden in Kroměříž, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was completed. He became the director in the autumn of 2019 after being appointed by Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek following a dispute between the leadership of MUO and its predecessor Staněk, who dismissed the then-director Soukup due to alleged financial irregularities.
Ing. Josef Bernard is a manager and politician. He obtained a degree in economics from the Metropolitan University in Prague. From 2010 to 2015, he served as the CEO of Škoda Transportation. In 2016, he ended his career in industry and entered active politics. From 2016 to 2020, he was the governor of the Plzeň Region and currently serves as the deputy governor responsible for the environment and regional development. Previously a member of the ČSSD, he now acts as an independent for the STAN movement. Since October 2021, he has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic.