Josef Štěpánek
*8. 9. 1889 – Mořice, Czech Republic
†4. 4. 1964 – Prague, Czech Republic
Biography
He graduated from the stone sculpture school in Hořice, then studied at the Plečnik studio at the Academy of Art, Architecture, and Design in Prague (1912–16), after which he transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts to the studio of Jan Kotěra (1916–18), where he became acquainted with Bohuslav Fuchs, with whom he established a joint studio in 1921. In the same year, Štěpánek's first major realization occurred, the complex of a power plant and a family house in Háj near Mohelnice, which he built under the influence of Rondocubism and Kotěra's modernism. He was a member of the Mánes Association of Fine Artists and the Association of Academic Architects. He also worked on the editorial board of the magazine Stavitel, where he served as chairman of the editorial board for two years. Besides a few rental or family houses, the most significant and also his last major realization was a twin house in the Brno colony of Nový dům. However, other of his designs, such as the winning proposal for a complex of parliament and ministerial buildings in Letná or a sports stadium in Braník, were not realized, mainly due to the economic crisis. At the turn of the 40s and 50s, he built a dam with a hydroelectric power station in Předměřice nad Labem. Subsequently, he only created various monuments and tombstones and died in obscurity.
He graduated from the stone sculpture school in Hořice, then studied at the Plečnik studio at the Academy of Art, Architecture, and Design in Prague (1912–16), after which he transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts to the studio of Jan Kotěra (1916–18), where he became acquainted with Bohuslav Fuchs, with whom he established a joint studio in 1921. In the same year, Štěpánek's first major realization occurred, the complex of a power plant and a family house in Háj near Mohelnice, which he built under the influence of Rondocubism and Kotěra's modernism. He was a member of the Mánes Association of Fine Artists and the Association of Academic Architects. He also worked on the editorial board of the magazine Stavitel, where he served as chairman of the editorial board for two years. Besides a few rental or family houses, the most significant and also his last major realization was a twin house in the Brno colony of Nový dům. However, other of his designs, such as the winning proposal for a complex of parliament and ministerial buildings in Letná or a sports stadium in Braník, were not realized, mainly due to the economic crisis. At the turn of the 40s and 50s, he built a dam with a hydroelectric power station in Předměřice nad Labem. Subsequently, he only created various monuments and tombstones and died in obscurity.
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