The golden era of Zlín functionalism

Le tout premier gratte-ciel en pays tchèques à Zlín, photo: Ondřej Tomšů

Industrialist Tomáš Baťa has forever changed the face of Zlín. He built workers’ districts as well as the country’s first skyscraper. Combining framework of reinforced concrete with red brick lining created one of the most impressive trends in modern architecture – low-cost, rational and functional, reminiscent of a perfectly functioning machine. Zlín became one of the most significant centres of interwar modern architecture in the Czech lands and the only consistently built functionalist town in Europe.

Industrialist Tomáš Baťa has forever changed the face of Zlín. He built workers’ districts as well as the country’s first skyscraper. Combining framework of reinforced concrete with red brick lining created one of the most impressive trends in modern architecture – low-cost, rational and functional, reminiscent of a perfectly functioning machine. Zlín became one of the most significant centres of interwar modern architecture in the Czech lands and the only consistently built functionalist town in Europe.