Zlín City Hall is seeking 70 million CZK for the restoration of the T. Baťa Memorial

Zlín - The City Hall of Zlín is seeking 70 million Czech crowns for the restoration of the Tomáš Bata Memorial. Most of the funding is to be obtained from grants, and a collection has also been established, said the spokesperson for the city hall, Zdeněk Dvořák, to journalists today. The building, designed by architect František L. Gahura and completed in 1933, is among the most valuable in the regional capital. The memorial commemorated Tomáš Bata, the founder of the shoe empire, who died in a plane crash in 1932.
    The memorial was rebuilt in the 1950s, it was used as the House of Art by the Zlín Philharmonic and the regional gallery of visual arts. However, the conditions there have become unsuitable in recent years. A few years ago, the philharmonic moved to a conference center designed by architect Eva Jiřičná, and the gallery relocated to the Baťa Institute. The empty building now requires repairs.
    "I am trying to open the right doors so that we can secure the necessary funds. Only from the city budget will we not restore the original appearance and purpose of this most valuable Zlín building," stated Mayor Miroslav Adámek (STAN), who is negotiating with several ministries and has also reached out to the president. He was reportedly promised state support earlier, but then the government changed.
    People and institutions can contribute to the restoration of the memorial through a collection called Zlíňané sobě. The account number is 55515222/0800. There are currently 144,000 crowns in the account, of which 100,000 crowns were donated by Teplárna Otrokovice.
    The city wants the building to serve again as a memorial. "It is a gem of our city and not only its; in terms of significance, it is compared, for example, to the Tugendhat villa in Brno," noted Adámek, who included the restoration of the memorial among the ten priorities he will pursue before the local elections.
    The external appearance of the building should return to its form from the 1930s, while debates about the internal arrangement are still ongoing among architects. "There will also be a workshop discussing it, which will take place in the future memorial on Tuesday," added the spokesperson for the city hall.
    The building closes the ascendant park prospect between the Baťa dormitories in the city center. Gahura applied a typical framework of a production building with a variable arrangement of floors in the project. The reinforced concrete skeleton is complemented by glazed surfaces. The lower part of the park prospect, named after Gahura, was recently reconstructed by the city, and the open grassy area is primarily used for relaxation by students from the nearby university. This has continued a tradition - it was in these places that people gathered during their free time during the Baťa era.