The seats from the Zlín House of Arts will be sent to Bzenec

Zlín - Seats from the former House of Art in Zlín will be transferred to Bzenec. The hall was previously used by the Zlín Philharmonic, which has been based in a new congress center for several years now. The city hall then decided to turn the building back into the Tomáš Baťa Memorial and offered 580 seats, for which it has no use, for sale as a rarity or a memento. There were more interested parties, but in the end, a deal was made with the town of Bzenec, said the spokesman for the city hall, Zdeněk Dvořák, today.

"Bzenec was the umpteenth interested party, but only with them did the sale reach completion. We even negotiated with one of the theaters in Brno," Dvořák stated. Bzenec will pay 118,900 crowns for the seats. "After payment of the purchase price, we will allow access. The people of Bzenec will fully cover the disassembly and transport," said the mayor's deputy, Dalibor Stříbný. According to Dvořák, the seats are expected to be removed next week. Apart from them, nothing else from the former House of Art has been sold.

The House of Art, originally the Tomáš Baťa Memorial from 1933, is one of the most valuable buildings in the regional capital. It commemorated the founder of the footwear empire, who died in an airplane crash in 1932. The building closes the rising park prospect between the Baťa dormitories in the city center. The restoration of the memorial is set to begin this year. Extensions from the 1950s will be removed, and individual construction elements will be restored. Iron, concrete, and especially glass—materials used by the creator of the memorial, architect František Lydie Gahura—will be incorporated.

The reconstruction is divided into three phases. The city has secured funding for the first phase, having received a grant of 32 million crowns from the Ministry of Culture. The city hall is attempting to secure European grants for the subsequent phases; according to the project, the restoration will cost up to 70 million crowns, and the amount may decrease through bidding.

The restored memorial is expected to attract more tourists interested in the Baťa past of the city and its architecture. "Let's look at how popular, for instance, Building 21 is. Its roof terrace is surely not missed by any visit interested in Zlín. Positive feedback has also been received for the reconstructed post-war buildings 14 and 15. The restoration of the Memorial will certainly contribute to the mosaic of unique Baťa buildings," said Dagmar Nová, head of the urban planning and architecture department at the city hall.