Moravian Bank

In 1928, Moravian Bank initiated the construction of a building that has had a great influence on the appearance of náměstí Svobody to this day. Architects Bohuslav Fuchs, Miloslav Kopřiva, Emil Králík, Jaroslav Syřiště, Jaroslav Stockar-Bernkopf, Jan Víšek and Ernst Wiesner submitted entries in the architectural competition. The original Kounic Palace was replaced by a building co-designed, as the jury had requested, by architects Ernst Wiesner and Bohuslav Fuchs. The structural part was designed mainly in Fuch's studio, while Wiesner and his studio focused on the designs of detailed parts. The uniqueness of the Moravian Bank building stems mainly from its structural concept. Both street facades (the side overlooking  náměstí Svobody as well as the other facing Veselá Street) are suspended on protruding roof panels, with the supporting ferro-concrete pillars drawn into the interior. This concept produced an airy facade broken only by the vertical elements of the suspension system and the horizontal elements of windows with opaxite ledges. The central lobby with bank counters is situated on the first floor with a ceiling of glass blocks. The entrance foyer with the staircase as well as the ferro-concrete pillars in the interiors are clad with white marble. However, neither the original elegant counters nor most of the other interior furnishings have been preserved.The bank building, which still serves its original purpose, became an important part of public life on Brno's central square, mainly due to its passage with shops and restaurants. In addition, the two topmost floors housed spacious apartments, the existence of which is signaled by the retracting terraces. The state provided financial support for the development of multi-purpose administrative buildings, mainly because they offered a solution to the housing crisis at the time and their multiple uses enlivened social life in the very centre of the city.