The design of Jan Pešat’s commercial building was influenced by the neighbouring Baťa Department Store. During its construction Pešat’s earlier house had been damaged, prompting him to replace it with a new modern building. The task, however, was complicated by the deep, narrow plot of medieval origin. Pešat therefore commissioned the Brno architect Bohuslav Fuchs, who already had experience with similarly constrained sites. Shortly before this project Fuchs had designed the Avion Hotel on Česká Street in the centre of Brno (project 1926–1927, completed 1928), a building with a comparable layout that required careful solutions to ensure sufficient lighting for a long, narrow structure.

For Pešat, Fuchs designed a five-storey building with a reinforced-concrete frame infilled with brick. Its façade corresponded visually with the neighbouring Baťa building. The upper floors were articulated by ribbon windows alternating with panels clad in white glass. The ground floor took the form of a recessed portal intended to draw visitors into the interior, although it is now enclosed by glazed doors. This portal led to an organically shaped staircase connecting the ground floor with a mezzanine level, while the upper floors were reached by a conventional two-flight staircase.

The ground floor and mezzanine were devoted to retail functions. The entire depth of the plan was used for sales areas, with an office, cloakroom, and toilet located at the rear. The mezzanine was illuminated by a large circular skylight. The upper floors occupied only the front half of the building and served as operational facilities. With a volume of only 3,149 cubic metres, the building represented the smallest department store in Ostrava. The top floor contained the private apartment of the owners, music teacher and conductor Jan Pešat and his wife Olga. The apartment opened onto the square through an enclosed balcony with a projecting canopy. The building represents an outstanding example of functionalist architecture of the 1930s and is also notable for its inventive response to a particularly challenging urban situation.

RR