In accordance with an older urban study of Trnava's historic center, the Jednota department store was located on the site of a demolished building in close proximity to Trojičné námestie (Trinity Square). The two entrance facades face Dolnopotočná Street and Zelený rínok (Green Market), an open space formed by the department store and the cultural center opposite it. On its southern side, there were plans to build the Prior department store, which, however, was not realized, nor was the intended system of terraces and pedestrian bridges at the first floor level (with the exception of the terrace on the western side of the department store), which would have connected these buildings.
The department store project was based on an internal competition organized by Družstevný projekt (DRUPRO) Bratislava, according to a design by architect Lumír Lýsko in 1969. In his design, the author departed from the established concept, which understood the architecture of a department store as a closed box without windows. Instead, he created a plastic mass composition which, despite its generous construction program (the total area of the six-story building exceeded that of the Prior department store in Bratislava by architect Ivan Matušík), successfully builds on the scale and character of the neighboring historic buildings, while at the same time graduating towards the larger scale of the newly emerging architecture in the surrounding area. From a structural point of view, the building follows contemporary department stores with its monolithic reinforced concrete skeleton with a 9 x 9 m module. However, its architecture is dynamically structured, with strictly defined, mutually overlapping, receding, and intersecting volumes.
The articulation of the individual facades also reflects the functional requirements of the layout, in which the visitor area, supply area, and department store facilities for employees are strictly separated. The sales areas in the basement (reserved for a self-service grocery store) and on the first three floors, connected by escalators in the middle of the layout, are accessible via two entrances from Zelený rínok and Dolnopotočná Street, respectively. While the southern portal is accentuated by a stepped arrangement, towards the square with the opposite House of Culture, the department store opens with an arcade with polygonal windows protecting the entrance on the ground floor and a viewing terrace on the first floor, which is connected to a bistro (its character was altered by subsequent renovations). Technical and storage areas with supplies via their own farmyard are located in the northern and eastern parts of the building, with the central warehouse located on the top floor. The third floor housed the department store's facilities, including a meeting room, a dining room, a company doctor's office, a social room, and an open-space office for 40 employees. The original interior design featured distinctive colors, different for each sales floor. The spaces were punctuated by circular columns, fitted with light slatted ceilings and divided by interior furnishings and furniture.
The building received the Slovak Architects' Association Award for 1980, with particular praise for its successful handling of urban planning and architectural issues.
Bibliography:
LÝSEK, Lumír: Dielo ocenené Cenou Zväzu slovenských architektov v roku 1981. Obchodný dom Jednota v Trnave. Príklad autorskej zodpovednosti. Projekt 253, 1982, 1, s. 40–49.
ŠLACHTA, Štefan: Obchodný dom Jednota SD Trnava. Architektura ČSSR XL,1981, 5, s. 223–226.
TOMAŠÁK, Jakub: Obchodný dom v Trnave. Projekt 165, 1973, 3, s. 22–23.
ZALČÍK, Tibor - DULLA, Matúš: Slovenská architektúra 1976 - 1980. Bratislava: Veda Vydavateľstvo Slovenskej akadémie vied, 1982, s. 192.
KUSÝ, Martin: Architektúra na Slovensku 1945 – 1975. Bratislava, Pallas 1976. s. 221-222.
