The city is seeking a way to deal with torrential rains in the Old Town.

On 12 August 2022, the Chief Architect’s Office (ÚHA) organised an interesting workshop in the field. Experts from various professions walked through the area threatened by torrential rains and discussed what measures could be implemented in the future to improve the situation.

The ÚHA together with the Metropolitan Institute prepared a guided walk “Changing Climate, Intense Precipitation and its Impact on Cultural Heritage” through a selection of the most vulnerable sites in and around the city’s conservation area.

The event took place as part of the H2020 ARCH project (820999) “Increasing the Resilience of Historic Areas to the Threats of Climate Change and Other Natural Hazards” in association with the project “Climate-Resilient Bratislava”. The projects explore ways of assessing the vulnerability of an area to flooding, and seek to develop tools to assist cities in improving the resilience of historic areas and monuments to the adverse effects of climate change and natural hazards.

During the field walk, the participants visited the most affected sites and had on-the-spot discussions with experts from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Monument Protection Institute, presenting their findings based on modelling of the impacts of intense short-term rainfall on the built-up area of the city.

In the follow-up discussion, Jana Hlavová and Zora Pauliniová from the ÚHA presented the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and focused on mapping specific measures that the city should take to deal with flooding in the area. The need to create a new paradigm for water management and street planning, to introduce systemic data work as a starting point for both modelling and rapid interventions, as well as to strengthen capacities, such as the creation of a “Climate Change Department” at the city, were the key themes of the discussion.

Guided by: Doc. RNDr. Eva Pauditšová PhD, PriF UK; Doc. RNDr. Dávid Krčmář, PhD, PriF UK; PhDr. Margaréta Musilová, MÚOP; Mgr. Eva Streberová, PhD, MIB; Ing.arch. Anna Gondová, PÚ SR.