This year’s brownfields conference and trip were a great success

The latest conference in the “Brownfields as an Opportunity” series took place last week, featuring examples of successfully completed regeneration projects – e.g. at Odry (CZ) and Ruda Śląska (PL) – as well as regeneration projects that are now in their initial phase, such as a project in Hukvaldy, three buildings on Karvina’s main square, or the chateau in Sedlnice. The participants also learned about new subsidy funding opportunities and heard a presentation of student theses focusing on regional development.

On the second day, the conference participants (plus a number of other interested guests) met up for a brownfield trip, visiting 5 unique and inspiring locations. The first brownfield was the Šverma locomotive depot, which still awaits new use. The second stop on the tour was the former barracks in Ostrava-Koblov; this brownfield has already found a new use, and the “New Chance” project is helping to breathe life into it once again. The next stop was the former distillery at Bohuslavice; the building is currently in a very poor technical condition, so for safety reasons it was only possible to view the exterior. The fourth location was a former water tower at Opava’s railway station, which has been transformed into a café and gallery and is now a popular venue for cultural events. The final stop on the route was Opava’s magnificent Marianum building.

Thanks go out to everybody involved for making the conference and the trip a great success.