Forum Hotel Cornerstone

Juraj Gavula / 1988

In the 1970s and 1980s, Juraj Gavula produced several cornerstones, mainly of hospital facilities. The cornerstone of Forum Hotel (now Crowne Plaza Hotel) is an exception. 

Forum Hotel was built between 1986 and 1989 in the area bounded by Poštová, Obchodná, Drevená streets and Peace Square (today, Hodža Square), according to a design by a collective of authors (Julián Hauskrecht, Štefan Ďurkovič, Boris Džadoň, Juraj Hermann, Dušan Krepop, Ján Polášek, and Pavel Suchánek). Completion of the hotel was originally intended to be part of a larger complex reconstruction of the block from Poštová Street towards Hurban Square. This ambitious project was ultimately abandoned, and the Forum Hotel building stands in isolation. Its architectural design, as well as the form of the cornerstone, were largely influenced by the contemporary turn towards postmodernism. Uncharacteristically, Juraj Gavula chose distinctive and elegant Cuban marble with rich green colouring.  

The cornerstone is located within the hotel forecourt in a small square adjacent to Obchodná Street. The glass façade of the former restaurant section was recessed, creating a niche into which the stone, a discrete object standing on a smaller horizontal marble platform, was set diagonally. Through reduction of shapes and an inclination to geometrisation, the artist achieved the minimalist form of a cube. Smoothly finished sides, polished to a high gloss, contrast with a roughened, textured top. The work rests asymmetrically on a diagonal marble strip that breaks the strict horizontal grid of the hotel's façade, bringing dynamism to the composition and acting as an imaginary shadow that rises onto the wall. This strip features an engraved inscription with details of the contractor and investor involved in the hotel’s construction, the date, and the name of the building. The interior of the cube houses a brass tube containing the founding documents of the building. 

NB

Research status as of 26. 04. 2023.


Authorship

Co-authorship


Years

  • 1988 – implementation

Type

Material

marble Verde Serano

Technique

carving, polishing, engraving

Dimensions

80 x 70 x 70 cm

Inscription

none

Condition

  • preserved, not maintained

Registration

  • Located in Monument Zone Central Urban Area, Bratislava.

Owner

  • DIAMOND HOTELS SLOVAKIA, s. r. o

Administrator

  • unidentified

Address

Obchodná Street

Location details

the cornerstone is located in a small square between the hotel and Obchodná Street

Plot number

8328/1

GPS

48.1471680, 17.1087640

Other works in the area

Art-architectural design of the Forum Hotel forecourt

Julián Hauskrecht, Boris Džadoň, Dušan Krepop, Ján Polášek, Pavel Suchánek 1988

Drinking Fountain by Forum Hotel

Jozef Barinka 1988

First Post Box

Ladislav Sabo 2001

World Postman Fountain

Martin Lettrich 2001