The developer offers parts of the equipment from OD Prior in Brno for a symbolic price

Brno – A farewell to the brutalist building of the former Prior department store at Brno's main railway station, as well as the sale of parts of its interior, is being prepared by the development company Crestyl. The shopping center Dornych, as the building had been called in recent years, officially closed on Wednesday, and preparatory work for its demolition has begun. The building will be torn down at the beginning of next year, the developer stated today in a press release.

Events that will allow people to access the building are planned for three weekends in November. For music events focused on electronic music, Filtr By Dornych and EXIT Warehouse: By Dornych, external organizers have rented the space for the first two weekends, while the developer will prepare the program for the third weekend of November.

On Friday, November 15, a concert is planned, though the program has not yet been announced. On Saturday, November 16, the third floor of the building will be accessible with an exhibition about the history of the brutalist building.

During the gradual dismantling of the building, people will have the opportunity to acquire some parts of the structure and its furnishings. "The building has a number of furnishings that can still be used without any problems, and it would be a shame to throw them away. At the same time, many people are asking us if they can take a souvenir from the old building or at least some keepsake. We are still figuring out how we will technically arrange this, but we would like to offer the public, for a symbolic fee, functional sanitary fixtures, doors, as well as concrete reliefs and other characteristic elements of the building," said Jaromír Krb, the director of development at Crestyl.

Preparations for the demolition of the 1984 building began in the summer and will continue until the end of the year. "During the next month, we want to complete all preparations related especially to the relocation of engineering networks, as well as the establishment of facilities for demolition and construction work, in addition to the overall clearing of the facility. In December, we will prepare for the demolition of the main building, but we will also start removing all smaller structures on the site," Krb added.

Demolition of the building will begin in January, will be gradual, and will last four months. Immediately afterwards, construction of the New Dornych project is set to begin. In the area next to the main train station, a partially covered public space and six buildings will be created, with the tallest being eight stories high. There will be a connection to the underpass under the main station and also a footbridge over Úzká Street. The new buildings are planned to have 186 rental apartments, complemented by 26,000 square meters of office space and 27,000 square meters intended for retail.

The former Prior building is one of the last representatives of the architectural style of brutalism in Brno. It was completed in 1984 and is a fragment of a much larger original project that encompassed the entire area south of the Grand bus station, which anticipated the relocation of Brno's main train station. According to the plan, a large regional center was to emerge, with two department stores and a commercial and service building with 22 stories. Development began in the 1960s, but after the arrival of Soviet troops in 1968, it was postponed, resulting in only a more modest variant being developed and from which only the Prior department store was built.