-
Tomáš Baťa’s attempt at first skyscraper in Europe
-
Baťa’s favourite architect had US experience
-
Eva Jiřičná’s completion design never implemented
The skyscraper that would never reach the clouds
Tomáš Baťa planned to build the first skyscraper in Europe at Malinovského náměstí (Malinovsky Square). He contacted the architect Vladimír Karfík, who designed a building of twenty-three floors. Due to the unstable terrain, however, the number of floors in the design stopped at a mere eight.
After World War II, Baťa’s company was replaced by the Centrum Department Store. The building was later inconsiderately remodelled and lost its distinctive division of horizontal stripes of clear and white glass.
Several designs for the completion of the skyscraper have been submitted over the years. One of them, a 2008 design by the architect Eva Jiřičná, furthers the building’s original interwar aesthetics and adds eleven more floors with apartments and green terraces. The design has not yet been approved by the Brno authorities responsible for preservation, however, and so the skyscraper has yet to be completed.
Address and contact
Kobližná 24
60200 Brno
Photo gallery
Tell your friends about Centrum Department Store!
Similar places nearby
-
Zeman Café (Zemanova kavárna)
A turning point in the development of architecture in Brno
-
Moravian Bank / now Komerční Bank, (Moravská banka / Komerční banka)
A functionalist building located on náměstí Svobody
-
Tribute to T. A. Edison/Pocta T. A. Edisonovi (Tomáš Medek)
In commemoration of Europe’s first electrically lit theatre