Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(Příloha):1-11

Unicoop, Centrotex, Omnipol - foreign trade enterprise buildings in Prague

Kateřina Houšková, Matyáš Kracík, Anna Schránilová

This article by a research author trio presents three fewer-published foreign trade enterprise buildings in Prague. These are the Unicoop, Centrotex, and Omnipol buildings, a mix generally completed in the 1970's by different architects and author collectives. The article's authors present these buildings, including their construction history, and address their authorship in detail as well as the response to them in period and contemporary print. They represent each building in the context of the period's architecture, describe its exterior, and also focus more closely on the interiors of the buildings and their preserved and non-preserved initial furnishings, including works of art. The article goes on to evaluate the historical value of the buildings and the possibilities of some form of more consistent heritage protection. Part of the introductory text is a probe into the history of the foreign trade enterprise buildings in Prague.
The Unicoop building is presented as a well-man -aged office-type building by architects of the Military Design Institute, Jaroslav Mayer and Josef Karlík, sensitively enriched using original artwork and stylish furniture into its representational spaces. The positive aspect of its condition is that it has not been extensively reconstructed and original design has been largely preserved, including the wall cladding, doors, and glass partitions. Moreover, part of the artworks from the original decoration (tapestries by Jan Hladík, art protis by Eva Ménesiová and Jaroslav Červený) were preserved or stored in the building of the Cooperative Association of the Czech Republic, which is the successor of the original founder of Unicoop. Consultations with the still living co-author of the structure, architect Josef Karlík, give the building additional value.
The pair of linked buildings of Centrotex and VÚPŘ by architects Václav Hilský and Otakar Jurenka from the Regional Design Institute together with the court building dominate náměstí Hrdinů (Heroes' Square). The monumentality of the exterior of Centrotex and VÚPŘ, besides the size of the entire structure, comprise an expressive plastic concept in a sophisticated way. This is one of the most original implementations in the context of the Prague architecture of the time. The main value lies in its surviving exterior; in contrast, the interior with its original rich artistic decoration survived only as a torso in the form of three textile works, the remains of lights from Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, and a ceramic relief from Lydia Hladíková, Děvana Mírová, and Marie Rychlíková. In terms of urban context, the continuity of the fragments of the surviving block development is problematic as a result of the unfinished concept of the originally proposed extensive development which, however, would have had to sacrifice more historical houses.
The administrative building for the former Federal Ministry of Commerce, specifically for the Omnipol firm, was built between 1975-1979 and designed by architects Kuna, Zdeněk Stupka, Milan Valenta, Jaroslav Zdražil, and Ladislav Vrátník from the Regional Design Institute in Prague. This is a new building built on a medieval street with many historical facades. The architecture was represented in the contemporary architectural language of sculpturalism, or metal brutalism. The Omnipol building is a very good example of a new building in a historic environment. Currently, the building is undergoing modernization which will result in a completely new i nterior, but the facade, after some slight modifications, will respect the original design.

Keywords: architecture of the later 20th century; foreign trade enterprises; Omnipol; Centrotex; Unicoop; heritage protection of modern architecture

Published: December 1, 2016  Show citation