The combined building of bank and theatre stands in the city centre, at the end of a fixed urban block. In the unusual combination of functions, the two main uses are functionally and architecturally separated. In the ground floor of the administrative section are shops, bank offices in the upper levels, and a restaurant in the cellar. The theatre is unusually economical in its use of space, both in the backstage area and in the entrance or seating sections. Though the floor plan clearly follows the principles of interwar Functionalism, the exterior still reflects the monumental tendencies of the wartime Slovak state, as well as the stylistic uncertainty of the immediate postwar years. Equally reflective of the era are the folkloric figural motifs of the stained glass and fresco work. During the 1980s, the theatre was reconstructed (architect F. Zbuško), but its original appearance was left unchanged.

Literature:
Nové divadlo v Bratislave. Slovenský staviteľ 14, 5, p. 41 – 47. Príloha časopisu Technický obzor slovenský 8, 1944, p. 5.
Budova banky a divadla v Bratislave. Projekt 31, 1989, 7 – 8, p. 60 – 61.
Architektonické dielo Eugena Kramára. Katalóg výstavy. Bratislava, SAS 1991.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 512 p.

Photo:
Matúš Dulla