A document is being created about the end of the former Brno Prior, people can contribute

Brno - The Brno collective 4AM/Forum for Architecture and Media is working with director Michael Jiřinec on a documentary film about the end of the brutalist building of the former Brno department store Prior near the main train station. People can still support the completion of the documentary for another week through a fundraising campaign on the Donio portal. The authors informed about this in a press release. The demolition of the building began in January this year and ended at the beginning of May, and six new buildings will be constructed on its site.

"For the last three years, we have been filming, collecting material since 2021. Part of the film will consist of animations by the artist Jakub Roček. We are now raising money for the completion of the documentary and its post-production. Some rewards have already been claimed, but it is still possible to choose interesting materials for your contribution," said architectural historian Šárka Svobodová on behalf of 4AM.

Among the available rewards are letters from the giant Tesco sign that was on the roof of the building, posters printed according to the original plans of the building, or a series of postcards documenting the 40-year-long existence of the building.

"We were extremely lucky that we managed to find the archive of the Prior department store in the building before its demolition, including the original plans and the archive of the marketing department. We obtained this thanks to former employees, some of whom worked in the department store throughout its existence, even as its name and operator changed," added Svobodová.

The authors of the documentary also filmed with witnesses and former employees. The film will not take the form of a linear narrative about the history of the building, but its significance will be described precisely through the relationship of the people who worked in the former Prior for many years. The completion of the documentary is planned for spring next year.

The former Prior building was one of the last representatives of the architectural style of brutalism in Brno. It was completed in 1984 and was a fragment of the original, much larger project that dealt with the entire area south of the Grand bus station and accounted for the relocation of the main train station. According to this plan, a large regional center with two department stores and a commercial and service building with 22 floors was to be created. The project began in the 1960s, was postponed after the Warsaw Pact troops occupied Czechoslovakia in 1968, and only a more modest variant was created, with only the OD Prior being built.

On the site of the brutalist building, the New Dornych complex is now being created. It will consist of a partially covered publicly accessible space of 25,000 square meters and six buildings with seven to eight stories. The connection to the underpass under the main station and a footbridge over Úzká Street will remain. There will be 186 rental apartments in the new buildings, supplemented by 26,000 square meters of office space and 27,000 square meters designated for shops. The entire construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.