Industriální topografie České republiky

Zprávy památkové péče 2013, 73(3):202-205

Industrial topography of the Czech Republic

Petr Vorlík

The industrial topography of the Czech Republic is a long-term scholarly project of the Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD) of the Faculty of Architecture at Czech Technical University in Prague. The web database interface allows for methodical processing, storage, networking, and evaluation of ongoing general and thematic research of the VCPD for a wide range of collaborators. Its structure is based on the layered interlacing of collected data and displaying it in a wider socio-economic and geographical context, with emphasis on the intersection of the planes of historical context and the current or future potential of industrial heritage.
The core of the topographic evaluation of the industrial heritage of the Czech Republic consists of specialized maps whose structure allows for the mutual quantitative and qualitative comparison of buildings in the territory. The synthetic map permits the display of all buildings as points in the country; setting aside a particular industrial sector from this selection (e.g. breweries, sugar refineries, bridges, etc.), and comparing the records with regard to their condition or potential (for example, to highlight conversions, cultural monuments, attractive tourist destinations, etc.).
The second key level of Industrial Topography consists of a Database of Buildings whose structure is based on a carefully formulated and refined methodology of field and archival surveys of the VCPD, repeatedly verified and consulted at national and international levels. The basic form of recording, and a quite natural form for the purposes of constructional heritage surveys (identification data, history and current status, sources and literature, photos and attachments, metadata), is complemented by a wide selection of general links (websites of towns and villages, the National Heritage Institute, Database of VCPD personalities, etc.) and detailed information presented as specific web links.
The Database of Buildings is supplemented by the Database of Personalities (architects, builders, construction companies) that provide the essential dimension of economic and social history to the research, and the Database of Referential Foreign and Czech Examples of new usages of industrial heritage (selected examples of successful conversions). The reduced English version was launched into operation in 2012.