SUMMARY 06/2005

Non-Excavation Technology for the Renewal and for the New Installation of Engineering Networks

Non-Excavation Technology (BT) for the renewal and for the new installation of engineering networks represents a developmental trend and a potential that needs to be used more often and more effectively. This kind of technology, developed and available today in numerous variants and sub-variants, can extend the longevity of existing engineering networks (IS) - today often and extensively found in poor technical condition - and allows for the new installation of IS lines without harming the environment and without significantly disturbing the operation of the IS, the surface communication, and the entire urban public space. This article aims to acquaint readers with Non-Excavation Technology, especially the broader sphere of engineers and technicians in areas other than network branches, and to raise the level of knowledge and information about this technology and thus contribute to the desirably more widespread use of BT in practice. Widespread, effective and efficient application of BT will probably not take off on its own and automatically; it requires concentrated and effective assistance from all interested and relevant professionals who are capable and willing to really help.

The Changing Face of Industrial Vysočany

Any visitor to the old industrial neighbourhood of Vysočany in Prague will immediately notice the changes that are under way, beginning with the health facilities in the direction of OSN Square. At this site a partially new and partially heavily reconstructed space consisting of the buildings of the station-front area has been developed in recent years, including new additions to the town hall on the opposite side of Sokolov Street. This is to be followed by the completion of the construction planned for OSN Square.

Kolben Street suffers from a dead atmosphere, and all that hangs in the air are the nostalgic reminders of the faded glory of the era of Mr. Kolben and the colourful slogans of the bright tomorrows of socialism. The industrial halls here currently are either abandoned or at best are used for other commercial purposes. The exteriors of the buildings are in visible decline and increasingly greyer. And yet this is a site that is more than adequately equipped with necessary technical infrastructure. Unused kW of electrical energy lie here, there are gas lines fitted and water mains of sufficient capacity, and the ecological heating supply main for Prague runs along the edge of the grounds and even directly below the site in one section. The current commercial, ad hoc, and merely partial use of the buildings is no solution, and the grounds need to be completely transformed.

Cast-Iron Colonnades and Other Iron Structures in Western Bohemian Spa Towns

As industry, transportation, and finance grew within increasing strength during the forty-year period before the First World War, a general economic boom took place under the Habsburg Monarchy, which was accompanied among other things by rapid demographic growth and the by migration of the population from rural areas to the cities. This had multifaceted consequences for society, including changes in lifestyle.

Among the changes that began to be common was the interest in travel, evoked or facilitated by improving financial conditions of urban households, easy transportation on a dense railway network, and the expansion of hostelry services. A concomitant feature was also the growth in the popularity of spa retreats, for the purpose of treatments or simply relaxation. With the growing amount of interest in such locations the prosperity of spa enterprises also grew, and spa locations experienced a period of development as never before, leading to the development of new spa buildings - spa houses, colonnades, hotels, restaurants, parks, theatres and other buildings for the comfort of spa guests. It must be remembered of course that all this took place in the period when the industrialisation of society was at its peak, the era of "steam and iron", which left its indelible imprint on contemporary architecture and construction. And it is the spa towns that provide us with the monuments and mementos of that architecture today. Not only the large halls but also smaller structures, the construction and decoration of which saw the predominant use of iron or cast-iron, the material that gave these structures their specific character. The main structures to be affected by this were the colonnades and other spa buildings - summer restaurants, music pavilions, verandas and various park buildings and structures such as gazebos, kiosks, fountains and other structures.