1918-1938: Toward Modern Architecture

The catalogue of interwar architecture from the NGP Architecture Collection presents the phenomena of modern life and lifestyle (životní sloh) as a concept theorised by Karel Honzík, at least since the mid-1930s, as the "sureness of expression" that is "unique to the modern person" (Za novým životním slohem [Towards a New Lifestyle], 1945). Societal forms include architecture, art, as well as intangible forms of social interaction, such as clothing, gestures, and more. The book spans six chapters focusing on international exhibitions, housing, work (Taylorism, factories), finance (banking establishments), urban life (metropolitan palace with a cinema, a theatre; hotels; bistros and cafes), and the modern body (sports, health i. e., sanatoria). These chapters reflect through examples the works of authors and artists such as František A. Libra, Karel Janů, Antonín Heythum, Milada Petříková-Pavlíková, Ferdinand Fencl, Augusta Müllerová, Josef Hrubý, and others. Sub-chapters mirror discursive shifts and present new scholarly endeavours.