The Zvonařka central bus station building was one of a series of efforts to create adequate facilities for public bus transport in Brno. From Bohuslav Fuchs’s design for a functionalist bus station on Benešová street (opposite the Grand Hotel), only one covered platform was built, between the years 1948 and 1949. The insufficient passenger capacity of this incomplete project led, in the late 1960s, to the construction of an unsheltered bus station on Uhelná street (the site on which the Prior department store was later built).
The eventual location of the bus station on Zvonařka street is related to deliberations on moving the main railway station to Rosická street (Dolní nádraží) and the new urban concept arising from the Brno Regional Centre Project from the late 1960s drawn up by architects Ivan Ruller and Zdeněk Řihák. In the 1970s, based on this plan, there was a massive clearance of the devastated area behind the railway station. However, from the original design, only the Prior department store (1980–1984) was eventually built, and in a modified form to a design by Zdeněk Řihák and Zdeněk Sklepek. It was accessible from the city centre via an underpass and connected to the newly built central bus station on Zvonařka by an elevated walkway.
The central bus station was built between 1977 and 1985 in three phases. The first phase entailed the building of uncovered platforms, a departure building, and footbridges across the streets Plotní and Úzká (1977–1978). In the second phase, an interim space with uncovered platforms was established on Opuštěná street (which is today a parking area). Finally, in the years 1981–1985, the roofing for the platforms and the adjoining passenger facilities were built to a Brutalist design by Radúz Russ. In the end, the associated plan for the construction of a high-rise building for the transport operator never materialized.
The central part consisted of a metal truss structure, which supported a concrete panel bordered by a monumental parapet of reinforced prefabricated concrete segments. This sheltered the platforms beneath and, at the same time, served as a parking area for up to 90 buses, which was accessible by means of a ramp from the south. In the north, there were three ground-floor buildings housing kiosks that separated the station from the main road. Situated between them was a sculpture on a high pedestal entitled Křídla [Wings] by the sculptor Sylva Lacinová (copper, 1982–1983). The complex was closed in by two matching style multi-storey buildings housing facilities for passengers. On the eastern side, there was a passenger building with a restaurant and accommodation on the first floor, while the western building housed shops. After the the OC Galerie Vaňkovka shopping mall was built in 2005 (to a design by architects Hrůša & Pelčák), the bus station was served by another elevated walkway along Zvonařka street.
The Brutalist style building has retained both its original character and purpose. However, maintenance to the metal structure, concrete elements and platform features was inadequate and necessitated a contemporary renovation of the bus station and the area around it. The reconstruction began in 2019 to a design by the architects Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof from 2017. The renovation project preserves the high architectural value of the structure and modernized it by means of comprehensive colour unification and the distinctive lighting of the sheltered area. It retains both the original parking area for buses and the area of the platforms, although they will take on a more contemporary appearance. The removal of the original adjoining buildings and the building of a new passenger hall in the northern sector changes the overall layout of the station and gives it a grand façade with a main entrance on Zvonařka street (opposite the Vaňkovka shopping mall). The modernization of Zvonařka central bus station was scheduled to have been completed by the end of 2020.
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