<p>Fifty years ago, architect Josef Havlíček passed away</p>

Prague - A respected figure of the interwar artistic avant-garde was architect Josef Havlíček, who passed away half a century ago, on December 30, 1961. He designed urban concepts, public buildings, and residential complexes, most of which were not realized due to their excessive generosity or extravagance. Nevertheless, the building of the General Pension Institute in Prague's Žižkov (now the House of Trade Unions), which he built in collaboration with colleague Karel Honzík, is perhaps the most typical structure of Czech functionalism.
    Havlíček was born on May 5, 1899, in Prague, and studied architecture at the Czech Technical University and at the Academy of Fine Arts under Professor Josef Gočár. In addition to the General Pension Institute, he designed, for example, a sanatorium in Poděbrady and a block of apartment buildings opposite Letenská Plain in Prague-Bubeneč, called Molochov. He was also active as a progressive painter, sculptor, and visual artist. He participated in the activities of the Devětsil group, SVÚ Mánes, and the Artěl cooperative. In 1948, he became the first director of Prague's Stavoprojekt.