Zprávy památkové péče 2014, 74(2):109-114

Heritage care of a city in the gardens. The transformations of the Zlín municipal heritage zone over the past years

Vít Jakubíček

The article discusses the historical development of Zlín, the city and the factory in the gardens, which was built in the interwar period in connection with the expansion of the company Baťa. The introductory historical part highlights the constructional principles of standardized and unified architecture that followed the strict rules as laid down by the investor. In contrast, the second part is devoted to the current situation in which the former Baťa construction is now parceled among thousands of owners whose ideas about the architectural and urban values of the municipal heritage zone of Zlín and its individual cultural heritage buildings are highly differentiated.
For a more flexible view of the recent issues, the article also addresses the development that the Zlín heritage zone has undergone since its declaration in 1990. This development shows how it is clear that the role that heritage care is resolving in Zlín today is the same one that has accompanied it from the beginning. Part of the article is also devoted to examples of successful recent reconstruction projects that have contributed to the cultivation of public space.

Keywords: Zlín, constructivist architecture, city in the gardens, Jan Kotěra, František Lydie Gahura, Miroslav Drofa, Pavel Novák

Published: June 1, 2014  Show citation