Publication details
History mirrored in glass: Tomáš Baťa Memorial in Zlín
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The paper follows the conference theme “representing, erasing, and reinterpreting the past in the built environment”. Its aim is to introduce a short social and cultural history of the Tomáš Baťa Memorial in Zlín. The Memorial is an extraordinary building built of glass, initially dedicated to the founder of the Baťa shoe company after his sudden death by airplane accident in 1932. From the architectural point of view, the Memorial is an important example of the functionalist minimalist design composed as a “building – statue”. On the other hand, it embodies not only the social but also political and imaginative relevance of T. Baťa for the life of the developing company city. Of course, this relevance and image of Baťa was under strong pressure of several reinterpretations during the 20th century. Hence, the main question of the proposed presentation will be double-directed: How were during the 20th century re/defined (1) the position of the building within the urbanism of the city and (2) its social and cultural meanings within the image of the city as a company/industrial city? To answer this question I will focus on three periods of the existence of the Memorial regarding to different political and socio-economic regimes. First, I will discuss the very beginning of its life course in the 30’s, its concept, surroundings and commemorative content. Second, I will interpret its rebuilding in 50’s which refers not only to the change of its subject matter but to the reinterpretation of the modern history of the city as such. The last discussed period will be the contemporary reconstruction of Memorial following the (re)writing of the Baťa myth after the coup d’état in 1989. The presentation will be based mainly on archive data gained during the research of the author on the Department of Civics, Faculty of Education MU. |