Bata’s Skyscraper
Encyclopedia
Zlín
Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It is 77.5 metres high and has sixteen floors. It was the administration building of the shoemaking factory Bata Shoes
Bata Shoes
Bata Shoes is a large, family owned shoe company based in Bermuda but currently headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, operating 3 business units worldwide – Bata Metro Markets, Bata Emerging Markets and Bata Branded Business. It has a retail presence in over 50 countries and production...
. Now it is headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of the Zlín Region
Zlín Region
Zlín Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central-eastern part of the historical region of Moravia. It is named after its capital Zlín....
. This building was one of the first high-rise buildings in Europe—the second tallest after Boerentoren
Boerentoren
The Boerentoren or KBC Tower is the tallest building and the second tallest structure in Antwerp, Belgium . The building was constructed between 1929 and 1932 and was originally high...
. The building is in constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced...
and was designed by Vladimír Karfík
Vladimír Karfík
Vladimir Karfík was one of the most important, well-known and influential Czechoslovak, and also Slovak architects...
.
The building was built between 1937 and 1938 at the order of Jan Antonín Baťa
Jan Antonín Bata
Jan Antonín Baťa was a Czech shoe manufacturer from Uherské Hradiště , brother of Tomáš Baťa....
.