* personal profile:
The bricklayer's apprentice wanted to improve and Bata supported him - young Gahura studied sculpture and architecture in Prague. After returning to Zlín, he expanded his cooperation with Bata and in 1924 he proposed for him the construction of a factory area as "Factory in Gardens". Right after that, the concept of Zlín as a garden city was formed in the cooperation between Bata and Gahura, and with this idea, Bata went to the municipal elections in 1927. According to the Zlín model, other Bata industrial and garden cities were built in Czechoslovakia and abroad from 1930.
Gahura worked for the company until 1945. He died in Brno on September 15, 1958.
Tomas Bata through the eyes of František Gahura - about the start of construction of “Letná“ (housing neighbourhood) in 1926: I suggested placing the individual houses parallel to the level lines... "What do you mean?" asked Tomas Bata. "This way!" and I indicated an idea with a line. He laughed a lot, he laughed for a long time, and I had the feeling that I had said something stupid. Tomas Bata finally calmed me down by saying: "I've been worrying about it for fourteen days and it's as simple as Columbus's egg." Come, let's look at it outside." ... This is how one of the first houses of our neighbourhoods was created.
František Lýdie Gahura, 1934 (SOkA Zlín, o. č. 3519, p. č. 1)
