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Minor stage Zlín

Vladimír Karfík

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Important events

(detail)1937 | construction

The building was designed by the architect of the building office of Baťa firm Vladimír Karfík. The period of the building construction oscillates between 1936 and 1937 in the literature. The original operational purpose of the building was very variable. The semi-basement contained a hall for movie projections.


(detail)00. 's 21. century | reconstruction

Repairs were carried out at the beginning of the 21st  century. Architect Pavel Martinek from atelier ARW Architects started to work on an extensive reconstruction of the building in 2004 that was carried out in the period from October of 2005 until November of 2006.


(detail)2006 | opening

Divadelní provoz byl v nově zrenovované budově zahájen na konci roku 2006. Provoz zajišťuje občanské sdružení Divadlo Malá scéna Zlín. V roce 2011 ohlásilo divadlo kvůli finančním problémům svou poslední sezónu.


People

Vladimír Karfík |main architect

Pavel Martinek |architect

History

Architectural and town planning appearance of the Zlín city was closely related with the  thriving firm Baťa especially in the interwar period. For dynamic development of the factory, it was necessary to enlarge the city at the same rate as well. For that, a new residential district came into existence in the beginnings of the 1930s that was named Na Dílech or simply Díly, located eastwards from the historical centre. The centre of this new district was not, rather understandably, a sacred building, but business and community centre with a simple name Díly. It was designed by the prominent architect of the building office of Baťa firm, Vladimír Karfík (1901–1996). The period of the building construction oscillates between 1936 and 1937 in the literature.
Karfík ingeniously inserted the multifunctional house into sloping terrain. He reached a distinctly horizontal impact of a one storey building from the view from the main avenue, named Štefánkova in the present days, furthermore amplified by a flat roof, whilst he took advantage of the superelevation on the opposite side and added another storey into the slope. Despite of the selected monolithic frame construction, so typical for architecture of Baťa, the use of standardized elements in combination with elegant details acquired a unique character in the first place for a delicate line of the balcony encircling the structure from three sides apart of generous glazing.
The original operational purpose of the building was very variable. The street ground floor contained shops, services and public library. A gym, café and bowling was inserted rather unconventionally into the first floor. The semi-basement contained a hall for movie projections. Cinematography belonged among fields of art that was strongly supported in Zlín.
Building modifications of a different character that did not respect the cohesive expression of the building were carried out in the structure of Commercial and Community House in the after war period. Also the purpose of the building had been changed and it started to be used as an Art school. Although this functional modification required the majority of interferences in the interior, they were negatively manifested in the outer skin as well as the first floor was divided into two storeys. The exterior hereby lost the original generous glazing that was replaced by considerably smaller windows in different frames. Concurrently, the purpose of the cinema was modified, when it was temporarily converted into a theatre.
Repairs were carried out at the beginning of the 21st  century. Architect Pavel Martinek from atelier ARW Architects started to work on an extensive reconstruction of the building in 2004 that was carried out in the period from October of 2005 until November of 2006. Its investor was the municipal council of Zlín. 
Martinek designed a new spatial arrangement of the oblong building. The communication core has remained to be the original two flight staircase, to which two foyers for two halls were added. The space of the former cinema hall was newly converted for theatre use, by which the capacity was reduced from 340 to 260 seats. A new chamber stage came into existence in the ground floor with a variable capacity up to 130 spectators. This hall is accessed through a cafe, which is separated only by a mobile partition from the foyer. New volume was created by a two storey extension that was inserted  underground by the west side of the building serving as dressing rooms, social facilities, scenery storage room and air conditioning room.
According to his own words, architect Martinek was „ guided by the effort for individual free interpretation of the interior from the 1930s“ while elaborating the reconstruction.
The theatre was opened to public at the end of 2006. The theatre is operated by the citizen association Theatre Minor Stage Zlín.
 

Literature:
–  Pavel Novák, Zlínská architektura 1900–1950, Zlín 1993, s. 30–33, 99
–  Michal Kohout, Stephan Templ, Pavel Zatloukal (eds.), Česká republika – Architektura XX. století: Díl I. Morava a Slezsko, Praha 2005, s. 174, 185
–  Pavel Martínek, Malá scéna, Stavba 14, 2007, č. 3, s. 54–57
–  Ladislava Horňáková (ed.), Fenomén Baťa: Zlínská architektura 1910–1960, Zlín 2009, s. 83

 

Tags: Functionalism, Interwar period, detached building

 

Author: Vendula Hnídková

Translator: Jan Purkert

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