Lev Krča and Stanislav Tobek – creators of (not only) Sokol buildings

The latest exhibition of the Methodical Center for Modern Architecture in Brno is available online on the website of Villa Stiassni. Visitors can view the exhibition panels accompanied by a curatorial commentary from Vlasta Loutocká and Petr Svoboda in the form of a video interview.
Lev Krča and Stanislav Tobek, graduates of Gočár's special school, followed their teacher in designing in modern constructivist forms, and like him, they did not consider any assignment to be small or insignificant. Thanks to them, progressive architecture made its way from the metropolises to smaller municipalities, where until then, construction had been almost exclusively in the traditional style. Both Krča and Tobek used functionalist forms judiciously – it always depended primarily on the practicality and comfort of using their buildings. Where it was purposeful, they favored organic forms, but much more modestly than, for example, the Šlapeta brothers.
Due to their passion for athletics, they often designed sports buildings, from small additions to the planning of extensive sports complexes in nature. Their patented homes with prefabricated steel structures were extraordinary – the original concept, which aimed to attract less affluent customers, fell by the wayside, and the homes were ordered more by small-town doctors and lawyers; nonetheless, both architects were pioneers in this field, followed by figures such as Ludvik Hilgert or Jaroslav Vaculík. The latter, along with Stanislav Tobek, founded the famous Atelier 13, which Tobek led and where he influenced a number of architects working in the 70s and 80s.
The exhibition will be available on the website at least until the beginning of the summer holidays, after which it may hopefully move in its traditional form to selected museums. The interview with the curators regarding the exhibition can also be viewed on You Tube.