This project is a model example of how to take the results of the research on technical and industrial buildings and sites conducted as part of the main activities of the Research Centre for Industrial Heritage at the Czech Technical University in Prague (VCPD) with the involvement of doctoral students, and to make use of these results for pedagogical purposes.

The history of technology and industry in Prague is presented using the examples of buildings and sites that have survived to date and others that have not. Information is provided under entry headings that describe the buildings, and searches can be made according to the criteria of location, type of building or site, or name. Altogether 350 entries for buildings have been prepared, along with 85 profiles of important figures or firms, 22 entries on the urban development of the administrative districts in the greater Prague area, brief outlines on the development of individual fields of industry, and a chronology of important dates of relevance.

The data entered into the central registry of industrial heritage at CTU is integrated and elaborated to include additional information and the result is that users are able to obtain an easily accessible and solid outline of information on their entry of choice. Each entry that describes a building or site includes basic information on the particular site (address, authors/architects, heritage status, etc.), a brief outline of the site’s structural history to date, along with a description of the technology or production connected with the site, relevant literature, and illustrations. The entries are linked through an index that contains profiles of firms and in some cases also institutions and important figures (architects, builders, industrialists, entrepreneurs, experts in technology, inventors, teachers, etc.).

The textbook is intended to serve the needs of students in all fields of technology, but is especially aimed at the students at the Faculty of Architecture and the Faculty of Civil Engineering. Emphasis is consequently placed on the structural aspects of sites, and the profiles of important figures are primarily associated with industrial and technical structures. The textbook also serves as a unique guidebook to the City of Prague, and in reference to the technological and industrial developments that took place in the city over time it facilitates an understanding of the city’s urban development. The textbook also larges serves as a source of information for the practical decision-making relating to the future transformations of the various parts of the City of Prague and the changes introduced within them and often also in reference to the conversion of abandoned industrial sites.

This interdisciplinary project arose with the support of a grant from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport within the framework of the development programmes for creating multimedia educational aids. The project is run by the Research Centre for Industrial Heritage CTU. The electronic form of the textbook involved the participation of a team of specialists from CTU Publishers – the Centre for Educational Support.