The Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD) was established on 1 May 2002 as an autonomous research centre affiliated with the Czech Technical University in Prague. In 2010 it became an institutional part of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University. The VCPD systematically documents the industrial heritage and technical and industrial monuments located on the territory of the Czech Republic and it studies them in reference to the history and theory of architecture, urban studies, and heritage conservation. In cooperation with the MA and PhD programmes at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University, it promotes the development of alternative projects for the adaptive re-use of industrial heritage.
The VCPD FA CTU takes an interdisciplinary approach to its work and promotes cooperation across a broad range of institutions. It documents historical experience, pursues the goals of sustainable development, and acts as an intermediary between the work of the professional community and the activities of enthusiastic volunteers. It also initiated the national platform for the conservation and adaptive re-use of industrial heritage – Vestiges of Industry.
Since 2011 VCPD FA CTU has been working on a research project titled ‘Industrial Topography of the Czech Republic’, which was supported under the NAKI (National and Cultural Identity) programme of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. One specific outcome is the online industrial heritage map, which is openly accessible to the public.
On 1 March 2016 VCPD FA CTU starts work on a five-year project titled ‘Industrial Architecture: Understanding Monuments of Industrial Heritage as Technical-Architectural Works and as a Source of Identity of a Place’, which is also supported under the National and Cultural Identity (NAKI II) research and development programme of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
The VCPD FA CTU is a member of the International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH).