The Brouk + Babka department store in Liberec is still in operation after 80 years

Liberec - A functionalist pearl of architecture in the hundred-thousand Liberec - the department store Brouk+Babka on Pražská Street - still operates more than 80 years after its opening. The dilapidated building, which has been named Jiskra since 1950, was sensitively reconstructed more than ten years ago by the Ústí-based company Severocentrum. On the façade, they restored a replica of the original name. Last spring, the building was bought by the firm Snow City of Plzeň entrepreneur Lukáš Puchta, and the name Brouk+Babka was replaced with the name of its shop, Snowbitch. The heritage protectors are not pleased.

"It is a splendid example of architecture, the National Heritage Institute presented it at the regional exhibition Architecture in the Service of the Republic, and it was also selected for a nationwide exhibition," said Miloš Krčmář, the director of the National Heritage Institute in Liberec, to ČTK. According to him, the reconstruction that the former owner carried out years ago can be considered one of the most successful reconstructions of functionalist buildings in the republic. "The transformation from Jiskra back to Brouk+Babka was absolutely exemplary," he added. Due to the subsequent controversial name change, heritage protectors filed a complaint with the Liberec magistrate last December, but have yet to receive any response.

The department store Brouk+Babka was built in 1936 according to a design by Prague architect Jan Gillar and is among the most interesting functionalist buildings of its kind in the Czech Republic. Therefore, heritage protectors oversaw its reconstruction. Builders had to preserve the maximum of the original structures and elements that have irreplaceable value and speak of the architecture of their time. Successful reconstruction was also praised upon completion in 2005 by architect David Vávra. He presented the house in its original devastated state a few years earlier in his television series Šumná města.

During the reconstruction, the builders preserved the original appearance of the entrance passage and the front glazing. The staircase also retains its original look. In the interiors, however, the building was supplemented with modern technologies such as air conditioning and ventilation, as well as three new elevators. Just like the builders 70 years ago, they used noble materials in the interiors - glass, wood, and metal. Today, the lower two floors house Skateshop Snowbitch, with a children's group and offices on another floor. The last floor was transformed to create two apartments that offer a unique view of Liberec from their terraces.

The sign Snowbitch remains on the department store, only the neon sign with B+B at the top of the façade today reminds of the building's past. Puchta does not see a problem in this, as it is not the original name, but a replica. The building bore the name Jiskra for much longer, which is why many Liberec residents still refer to it that way today. "The sign itself, from a historical perspective, had no reason to be there anymore, because it was there in the 30s, it was a retail chain and it ceased to exist. The functionalist building remains as it is; there has been no degradation. The only thing that has changed is the sign, which has remained in the same form, in the same style, and made using the same technology as the original sign. We have acted as sensitively as possible, and we stand by it," added the current owner of the department store.