In Slovakia, the tradition of mining minerals suitable for the production of heat proof blocks for melting furnaces has its roots in the 19th century. In the post-war period, after nationalization and in the conditions of the socialist organization of industry, these plants were combined into the national enterprise called Slovenské magnezitové závody (Slovak magnesite works). Even though the factory in Banská Belá no longer processes the quartzite called Dinas, architecturally it remains the most modern of similar plants, built at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s.
The factory complex, located in the valley of Halčiansky brook, was designed by Emil Belluš. The compound was not only modern in terms of the formal architecture of individual buildings, but also in terms of its overall concept, which responded to the requirements of technology and production flow and also to the morphology of the terrain and suitable working conditions ensuring work efficiency. The plant consists of a production and administrative part, and includes production halls, preparation rooms, a heating plant, warehouses for raw materials and finished products connected to a factory railway, an administrative building and a thought-out transport system.
The various functional uses of the buildings are reflected in their material design. The author, in addition to architecturally mastering the demanding production-administrative complex, focused on natural lighting of the premises. In this respect, the production halls with large windows on the side facades and roof skylights have an impressive aesthetic effect, and are also boldly covered with large-span reinforced concrete shells. Even though the factory complex was built based on a project that is not considered to be as harmonious as its other known variants, it has an irreplaceable spot in the design of industrial buildings, as well as in the work of Emil Belluš. This factory is the last one of his industrial architecture work. Today, in 2021, it does not fulfill its original function and is in decay.
Bibliography:
KUSÝ, Martin: Emil Belluš. Bratislava, Tatran 1984, s. 59.
HUSÁK, Vladimír: Architektúra továrne Dinas v Banskej Belej. Zborník Z dejín baníctva v Banskej Belej, Slovenské banské múzeum v Banskej Štiavnici. Spravodaj, 1998, 2 – 3, Prievidza, s. 121 – 125.
HAVAJ, Juraj: Výrobné a inžinierske stavby v diele profesora Belluša. Architektonické listy FA STU 2, 1999, 2, s. 43.
HUSÁK, Vladimír: Továreň Dinas v Banskej Belej. Významné dielo priemyselnej funkcionalistickej architektúry. Projekt 41, 1999, 6, s. 8 – 13.
HUSÁK, Vladimír: Továreň Dinas. Funkcionalistická priemyselná pamiatka v Banskej Belej. Stavba 3, 2000, 6, s. 39 - 41.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002, s. 415.
DULLA, Matúš: Architekt Emil Belluš. Bratislava, Slovart 2010, s. 116 – 120.
