Architecture Day: Zlín - Architecture +-

A guided tour of the permanent exhibition at the Regional Gallery of Fine Arts in Zlín, exploring the transformation of residential architecture and housing in Zlín during the 20th century. Curator and art historian Nela Kvíčalová will lead visitors through various types of residential buildings - from models of family homes by František Lydia Gahura and Vladimír Karfík, through Jiří Voženílek's Collective House, to villas by Zdeněk Plesník.

The central question of the tour is how architecture responded to Zlín's dynamic development during the Baťa company era and its subsequent transformations. Tomáš Baťa (1876-1932) is known not only as an entrepreneur but also for his innovative approach to employee quality of life - particularly through the so-called "Baťa houses". Following the model of English garden cities, he built entire new neighborhoods in Zlín and collaborated extensively with architects Jan Kotěra and František Lydia Gahura. Gahura's urban planning principles later influenced the design of newly built Slovak cities such as Svit pod Tatrami and Partizánske (also known as Baťovany), designed under the direction of Vladimír Karfík and Jiří Voženílek.

Led by: Nela Kvíčalová, curator and art historian