Zlín Gallery will showcase revitalized spaces in the city

Zlín - The Zlín Regional Gallery of Fine Arts has prepared a series called Zlín Confrontations. It will showcase revitalized public spaces in the city, said Michaela Mitáčková, spokesperson for the Baťa Institute, where the gallery is located, today to ČTK. The first presentation will be of the renewal of Gahurov prospekt, the area in front of the Cultural and University Center, starting Tuesday. It has been serving people since last year, and the renovation cost 16 million crowns.
    The previously unregulated area has transformed into a place for rest and social gatherings. The green promenade in the center of Zlín has thus returned to the function it served in the early 20th century during the Baťa era. It is named after the architect František Lydie Gahura, who influenced the appearance of Zlín and gave the final shape to the neighborhoods with typical Baťa houses made of red bricks.
    The exhibition will present the project for the promenade's restoration designed by architects Jitka Ressová, Hana Maršíková, and Jan Pavézka. The minimally designed space features recessed sidewalks in an artificially undulating terrain. The lawns are often used by students of Zlín University, whose buildings are located near the promenade, for rest as well as sports and recreational events.
    At the exhibition, people will learn more about the design process and the various phases of project preparation. "Together with time-lapse videos, you can see whether the reconstruction was successful and how the new space is utilized by students and other people," said exhibition curator Lucie Šmardová.
    The series will gradually present projects that were realized as winners of public architectural competitions over the last four years. Next year, it will continue with exhibitions about the reconstruction of buildings 14 and 15 in the industrial area, which became the Baťa Institute, about the revitalization of Komenský park, and about the reconstruction of the underpass at náměstí Práce. The exhibitions will be complemented by guided tours and discussions with architects. The exhibition on the revitalization of Gahurov prospekt will last until February 18.