A conference center designed by architect Eva Jiřičná has opened in Zlín

Zlín - The Congress Center building was ceremonially opened in Zlín yesterday, designed by architect and Zlín native Eva Jiřičná. The construction of the building cost 636 million crowns. The building in the city center will serve as the new headquarters for the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, and the city intends to use it for cultural and social events.
    The center in Zlín has been gradually developed since 2006, with the investment coming from the Zlín city hall. In the evening, nearly a hundred people demonstrated against what they claimed were unreasonable investments by the city council near the building.
    The Congress Center forms a joint complex with the neighboring University Center, which was opened more than two years ago. The decision to build on the site of the former Masaryk Schools was made in 2003.
    "I am glad that we did not back down from this project, even though the journey was long, seven years. It took seven years to get to this stage," said Zlín's mayor Irena Ondrová (ODS) to reporters. For a long time, only the unfinished lower part of the building with engineering networks stood in the city center. The city received hundreds of millions in subsidies from European sources for the completion of the building. It itself paid 160 million. The state also contributed to the construction.
    Besides concerts of classical and popular music, the center is also intended for balls and business and congress events. "From the beginning, it was clear that the building had to be multifunctional. It was not possible to build just a purely concert hall, as that would be insufficient for Zlín," added Ondrová.
    The centerpiece of the Congress Center is a large hall for more than 830 spectators or listeners, intended for the largest events. It also includes a smaller hall with a capacity of about 90 people, six lounges, and a restaurant.
    The public will have the opportunity to tour the center on several dates at the beginning of October. The building still awaits interior furnishing and further finishing work. Its commissioning is planned for the beginning of next year. "We need to make ourselves known. This means that we will place great emphasis on promoting ourselves as best as we can and reaching out to as many entities as possible to hire our services," said the center's manager Karel Adamík.
    The construction of the Congress Center became a topic of criticism from some parties towards the current city council before the municipal elections. The city later refuted some statements published in the media.
    The movement of independents called M.O.R. - for the Moral Cleansing of the City Hall organized a demonstration today in connection with the opening of the center against unreasonable investments in Zlín. Almost a hundred mostly young people gathered around 6:00 PM and, with banners reading texts such as "KUC = expensive fun", "Invest better, Zlín," and "Politics is not business", circled around the park opposite the opening building several times. After about an hour, the demonstrators dispersed.
    According to Eva Štauderová, who is running as the first candidate for the movement in the Zlín city council, the event was not aimed at a specific building but rather against unreasonable investments in general. "We perceive the Congress Center as too costly and megalomaniacal, possibly built at the expense of several small individual events, which will likely need to be postponed because of it," Štauderová told ČTK and Právo. She added that the city should have rather invested money into improving the everyday life of its citizens.
    Jiřičná was a partner of architect Jan Kaplický in the 1970s, who passed away last January. This summer, she began preparing the construction of a concert hall, known as the Rejnok, which Kaplický designed for České Budějovice.