Housing as a Living Part of Industrial Heritage: Contemporary Approach in Company Town of Zlín

The article explores employee housing as a part of industrial heritage through the case of Zlín (Czech Republic), the company town of the Baťa Shoe Company, where thousands of people live in the original residential districts of houses built by the company mainly in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Although these housing areas are a part of Zlín urban conservation area, and stand as outstanding witnesses of industrial society’s values, and organizational principles, they are still homes to today’s residents. The text aims to show how local institutions (municipality, museum professionals, architects, NGOs, etc.) work with this heritage. The core of the text focuses on the critical evaluation of the activities of the “InfoPoint” and “Zlín Architectural Manual,” where local experts introduce the topic of employee housing (and the city planning of industrial cities) to the public, both as architectural historical heritage and as an object of responsible adaptation to contemporary housing standards.

Based on the data obtained in our research work, we identify three aspects of the ways Zlín is presented to the public. We discuss (1) the importance of the language used in presenting the Baťa houses, (2) the ethical issues connected with presenting the inhabited houses, and (3) the character of professional work we label “expert activism” (e.g., the activity of professionals in “InfoPoint,” not the activities of “traditional” memory and research institutions).

The research methods are mainly based on our long-term participative observation, document analysis, and in-depth interviews with actors involved.