Bolt Watch Tower and Café — Ostrava, Czech Republic

Bolt watch tower
(Image credit: Tomáš Souček)

Located on the top of a 60-metre high blast furnace, Bolt Watch Tower and Café is the latest addition to the ongoing revitalisation of Ostrava Vítkovice, a former industrial district in Prague, now listed as a National Cultural Monument. Vítkovice Holding - the owners of the area - tasked Czech architect Josef Pleskot to reimagine the industrial structures into cultural, leisure and educational facilities. Bolt Watch Tower is a dynamic steel and glass arrangement which is made up of a 250-metre long spiral that twists around a central cylindrical volume. Three floors of the tower accommodate a café and club, furnished with Eames plywood chairs. The circular layout of the café - which serves coffee, drinks and a selection of simple snacks - offers an unexpected experience of the machinist architecture and impressive views of the industrial heritage below. 

Bolt watch tower and café

(Image credit: Tomáš Souček)

café

(Image credit: Tomáš Souček)

Tower and café

(Image credit: Tomáš Souček)

INFORMATION

Website

ADDRESS

Ostrava Vítkovice
Prague

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

PHOTOGRAPHY
Tomáš Souček

Adam Štěch is an architectural historian, curator, writer and photographer, based in Prague. He is the author of books including Modern Architecture and Interiors (2006), editor of design magazine Dolce Vita and a contributor to titles including Wallpaper* and Frame, while also teaching at Scholastika in Prague.