New publication by Martin Strakoš about cultural houses in the Ostrava region

The latest publication by Martin Strakoš, “Cultural Houses in the Ostrava Region in the Context of 20th Century Architecture and Art: Cornerstones of Society”, deals with the evolution of a specific type of culturally focused buildings and selected examples of these structures not only in the Ostrava territory. It follows the author’s title “New Ostrava and its Satellites: Chapters from the History of Architecture of the 30s to 50s of the 20th Century,” published in 2010 by the Ostrava branch of the National Heritage Institute.

The work “Cultural Houses in the Ostrava Region in the Context of 20th Century Architecture and Art: Cornerstones of Society” focuses on the genesis of the cultural house as a specific architectural type. It mentions the development from national houses and theaters to modern multifunctional cultural buildings. It also provides contemporary domestic reflections on cultural building projects within Czechoslovakia (Masaryk Cultural House in Mělník) as well as examples from other European countries (Slovakia, Poland, Soviet Union, Great Britain).

A section follows that focuses on the development of cultural buildings in the Ostrava region, including references to unrealized designs of cultural houses from the period just before and just after World War II. The discussion then shifts to projects and realizations of cultural houses in small municipalities and mining enterprises in Ostrava, which reflected the ideas of functionalism as well as the emerging socialist realism and Brussels style.

An important block consists of chapters dealing with cultural houses in the new satellite towns and housing estates of Ostrava, which were realized mainly in the second half of the 1950s. Externally and in terms of layout, these are examples of modern classicism, while late modernism is indicated in the interiors through the Brussels style or a certain minimalism of forms. The most significant monument of this type is the House of Culture of the Working People of Ostrava (now the House of Culture of the City of Ostrava) from 1954 to 1961 by architect Jaroslav Fragner. Other presented cultural houses include the Cultural House Poklad in Ostrava-Poruba, the Cultural House Akord in Ostrava-Zábřeh, the Cultural House Petra Bezruče in Havířov, the Cultural House of the City of Karviná, the Cultural House in Hlučín, or the Těšín Theater in Český Těšín.

The conclusion of the book is devoted to specific examples of architectural culture, including the heritage protection of cultural houses. It mentions the relationship between the heritage-protected object and a new architectural layer in the form of the dominance of the new or an emphasis on an equal dialogue between the new architecture and the monument.