The Slovakia Hotel was designed so that its mass would enclose Žilina’s Lenin Square (later Ľudovít Štúr Square) on the west side. The square began to take shape in the 1950s on the edge of the historic center, in accordance with the urban planning concept by Ferdinand Čapka and colleagues. The square served as the terminus of the city boulevard within the axially symmetrical composition of the Hliny housing estate. In their design for the hotel, architects Toman and Sedlák naturally oriented the main facade and entrances to the multifunctional ground floor toward the square.
Compositionally, the hotel consists of two basic volumes—an articulated two-story base, partially lightened by pillars, and a four-story guest room section, whose vertical axis is topped by the roof cube of the observation restaurant. The composition is complemented by a roof pergola structure bearing the hotel’s name. The architectural expression is dominated by the horizontal lines of both main volumes with bands of windows, only slightly disrupted by their vertical articulation. The building’s layout is rational and clear. The base level housed facilities that functionally complemented the plaza, such as a wine bar with a dance floor, a restaurant, a bar, a café, and a sauna with a small swimming pool in the basement. The guest room section consists of a three-wing layout with a central corridor and two circulation cores.
A strong aspect of the hotel's architecture is the artistic quality of its interior. Architect Gabriela Cimmermanová collaborated with painter Robert Brun on the design. The spaces are dominated by the ceiling designs and the original lighting fixtures. The individual public areas of the hotel are distinguished by variations on this striking element. Also exceptional is the interplay of works of art by sculptor Vladimír Kompánek and painter Juraj Martha with the principles of the interior and elements of the furnishings. At the main entrance is a large relief with geometric motifs, the work of Róbert Brun.
Today, the hotel stands out for the extent to which its original elements have been preserved. The main concept of the hotel was completely negated in 2007 by the construction of a shopping mall on the area of Ľudovít Štúr Square. The hotel building now finds itself in an unfortunate situation where its main façade is obscured by the side front of the shopping mall.
author of the description: Monika Bočková
Bibliography:
DULLA, Matúš: Hotel Slovakia v Žiline. Projekt 1982, roč. 24, č.6, s. 6 — 16, s. 57.
KRIVOŠOVÁ, Jana - LUKÁČOVÁ, Elena: Premeny súčasnej architektúry Slovenska. Bratislava: Alfa, 1990, s. 171-172.
KRATOCHVÍL, Anton: Stavoprojekt Žilina 1948 – 1985. Žilina, Stavoprojekt 1985. s. 74 – 75.
