Jan Šrámek at Unité d'Habitation

Through books, comics, prints, videos and other output, “illustrator-activist” Jan Šrámek has been drawing attention to the brutalist architecture of the Czech Republic for the last decade and a half. As in other places, the brutalist buildings in his home country are under threat, if not already things of the past. Some of the departed buildings live on in Šrámek's distinctive illustrations on display in Endangered Species: Unclaimed Brutalism opening on April 6 at Galerie Kolektiv Cité Radieuse at the Unité d'Habitiation in Marseille, France. Here we take a look at a few of the images in the exhibition.

At top is Jested Department Store in Liberec, designed by Atelier SIAL (Karel Hubáček, Jiří Suchomel, and Miroslav Masák) between 1970 and 1979. Although the building was considered one of the most unique modern buildings in the country, it was demolished in 2009 to make way for the relatively indistinct Forum Liberec Shopping Center.

Above is House of Culture Eden in Prague 10, designed by Hana Peškovi and Dalibor Peškovi between 1980 and 1987. The building featured a 600-capacity multi-purpose hall, a 105-seat restaurant, and a large foyer for exhibitions, but it has been closed since 2000. In 2021, the Center for Central European Architecture (CCEA) held a design competition for a “New Eden” on the same site; it was won by the team of ohboi and JIKA-CZ.

Above is Hotel Thermal in Karlovy Vary, designed by Věra Machoninová and Vladimír Machoninovi between 1967 and 1976. The brutalist building was designed to host the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Although it still hosts the festival to this day, the building has been altered despite protests.

Below is the Extension of Motel Stop in Prague 5, designed by Milan Rejchl in collaboration with Květoslav Přibyl between 1974 and 1978. The building is extant, now part of the Hotel Golf Prague, so named because it abuts the Golf Club Praha. (Take a look at the Rejchl's building in Google Street View.)