The doors of Bratislava's PRIOR department store (currently Tesco), a model of the socialist version of consumerism, opened in November 1968. The building is shaped as an equilateral triangle, and belongs to late modernist architecture predicated on strict geometry and rational composition of masses. The façade is clad with Spiš travertine slabs that create large bright surfaces. On the wall facing Dunajská Street, the architect Ivan Matušík, in collaboration with the sculptor Jaroslav Kočiš, designed a minimalist yet functional embellishment – a chiming clock (completed in January 1969). 

Serving as a historical and romanticised trace of the past, the bells add a distinctive element to the strict, even cold, geometry of the modern building. Above twelve variously sized bells set in three rows of four, a clock in polished and unfinished travertine with hands of copper sheet is depicted in the conventional form of a circle within a square. The square versus the circle represents the designer's credo and, in the context of the department store, perhaps also the trademark of the architect Ivan Matušík. 

Jaroslav Kočiš also used bells in his construction of the Koliba restaurant for Expo '67 in Montreal, placing a row of shepherd's bells on a long pillar of the wooden structure. The chimes on the department store are not only a visual feature, they deliver a distinct acoustic element to the public space, contributing to the unique atmosphere of the wider area around the building. 

VB

Research status as of 31. 12. 2023.