The 1990s

The 1990s in Zlín were spent in a hectic transformational spirit filled with faith in the new possibilities of the private sector. When the Czech Television documentary Zjizvená tvář měst (The Scarred Face of Cities) was produced in 1994, the introduction stated, among other things, that Zlín is "the city of Baťa and Gottwald, a city near Slušovice, a city of banks, car showrooms and pink villas, a city of women, beautiful girls and Italian visitors, a centre of entrepreneurs, and wheeler dealers and their cars. Zlín is simply original..."

In addition to banks and car showrooms, supermarkets and multi-functional buildings were also built (as in other larger cities) offering facilities for betting offices, gaming rooms, and casinos. Provisional buildings also appeared, where smaller entrepreneurs found at least a temporary background. The commercial kiosks (booths) located in the historical centre on náměstí Míru became a discussed intervention in the public space. "Booth-up, de-booth, or re-booth" was one of the most frequent topics of the city newsletter in the first half of the 1990s, as well as the subsequent (still unrealised) architectural competition for the completion of the square.

The legacy of Tomáš Baťa has once again returned to the awareness of citizens. First of all, there was the visit of Tomáš Baťa junior in December 1989, who was welcomed by a large crowd led by Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimír Dlouhý and Walter Komárek in Zlín Square. This was followed by the renovation of Tomáš Baťa's family villa, but also by the gradual selling off of workers' houses. The architecture of the industrial city was newly declared a heritage zone; Many of the important buildings representing the Baťa Zlín have been renovated (such as Building No. 21).

In 1990, regional committees were abolished and cities gained greater autonomy. The department of the chief architect had now only the area of Zlín and Otrokovice, later only Zlín, to manage, instead of the Gottwaldov agglomeration. With the division of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993, the city found itself in a new geographical situation: from its original position in the middle of the country, it moved to its edge. Large industrial enterprises, whose main markets were in the East for decades, slowly lost the potential to adapt to new conditions, could not cope with the competition and gradually ceased operations. This gradual demise meant that the factory premises were partially preserved, and the original regulation was not disturbed. However, part of the buildings already served temporary purposes (for example, the market). The heating objects of fluid boilers designed by architect Daniela Jungwirth became dominant elements inside the factory premises.

The younger generation of architects left a new mark on the city. They gradually left the former design offices and founded their own studios. Architects and studios, such as Jiří Gebrian, Ateliér 91 (Richard Turna), Ivan Bergmann, ADDO studio (Jiří Záhořák, Jaroslav Habarta) and others, designed visually distinctive houses with a clearly individualised expression and new forms that were freely inspired by foreign models. Designers Radek Hegmon and David Karásek, then students of the detached workplace of VŠUP (College of Arts and Crafts) in Prague, won a public competition for the design of urban furniture and the subsequent implementation in 1993, which is connected with the founding of the mmcité company. The visual identity of the city, by graphic designers Petr Babák and Tomáš Machek, became a follow-up input. The complex solution and interconnection of furniture with graphics and its subsequent application in the city services was exceptional in its time and won the National Design Award in 1996.

 

 

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