In today’s Wikipedia rabbit hole, I’m looking at the Centrální sklad obuvi in Zlín, Czechia. Slender-framed windows, external fire escapes, and its use as an innovative logistics hub piqued my interest.
Designed by architect Vladimír Kubečka and built between 1949 and 1955, it was the first attempt in the former Czechoslovakia to build a modern warehousing facility.
It is part of a larger complex of factory buildings (it’s colloquially called building number 34, the larger building in the photo above, with number 33 to the left of it) in the industrial city of Zlín.
Late last week, a fire broke out in the warehouse, leading to its partial collapse but no injuries or loss of life. The remains of the building are unlikely to be saved and are awaiting demolition.
It reminded me of warehouses of mail-order stores in central Manchester, such as Great Universal Stores (which at one point used to operate the credit agency Experian, if that qualifies as a fun fact) and others. These are now primarily converted to modern offices or housing.
Related links:
- Centrální sklad obuvi (Zlín), Wikipedia
- Požár budovy číslo 34 ve Zlíně, Wikipedia
- Baťův mrakodrap, Wikipedia – where the above photo was taken from, remarkable for being the second-highest building in Europe at the time of its’ construction
- Zlín album by Herbert Frank, Flickr
- The Universal Stores, Devonshire Street, manchesterhistory.net
- Life on the warehouse floor of Manchester’s lost ‘Amazon of its day’ shopping giant, Manchester Evening News
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