Helena Huber-Doudová: Věra Machoninová - the first lady of Czech brutalism

Věra Machoninová is one of the most important figures in Czech architecture of the second half of the 20th century. Her work is closely linked to her joint activity with her husband Vladimír Machonin (1920-1990). Together they designed a number of remarkable buildings in the brutalist aesthetic. Her distinctive contribution to these works involved employing very bold structural solutions, using new types of materials and technologies, and giving them an original and authorial character. During the lecture, the most important works of Machoninová will be discussed, such as the Thermal Hotel in Karlovy Vary (1967-1977), the Kotva Department Store (1969-1975), and DBK (1971-1981) in Prague; materials from the collections of the National Gallery in Prague will also be presented.
Helena Huber-Doudová is the curator of the Architecture Collection at the National Gallery in Prague (NGP). She earned her doctorate at the University of Zurich and is a fellow of, among others, DAAD, Aktion Österreich, the International Museum Fellowship of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, and Robert Bosch Fellowship. She leads the project Women in Czech Architecture (1945-2000) and edited the recently published book Modernist Women Architects: Imaginations and Realities since 1900 (Prague 2022).
The meeting will be conducted in English.