Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in

Karlín Karlín (german: Karolinenthal) is a cadastral area of Prague, part of Prague 8 municipal district, formerly an independent town (which became part of Prague in 1922). It is bordered by the river Vltava and Holešovice to the north, Vítkov ...

– 1 August 1956 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Dejvice Dejvice is a historical community, a municipal quarter of the Prague 6 district of Prague, Czech Republic. Its history can be traced back to the late Roman era. Dejvice is known for its appeal to the upper middle class, foreign diplomatic corps ...

) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician.

Life

Janák studied with

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...

in Vienna between 1906 and 1908, and worked in Prague under

Jan Kotěra Jan Kotěra (18 December 1871 – 17 April 1923) was a Czech architect, artist and interior designer, and one of the key figures of modern architecture in Bohemia. Biography Kotěra was born in Brno, the largest city in Moravia, to a Czech fathe ...

. In 1911, with the publication of an article ''The Prism and The Pyramid'' advocating dynamic architectural compositions and destabilizing traditional right-angled buildings, Janák became the leading theoretician of Czech Cubism. Of the three Czech cubists—Janák, Josef Chochol and

Josef Gočár Josef Gočár (13 March 1880 in Semín – 10 September 1945 in Jičín) was a Czech architect. It was one of the founders of modern architecture in Czech Republic. Life Josef Gočár received his early instruction at the State Technical School ...

—Janák built fewer buildings and produced more theoretical work, but his 1913 Fara House in

Pelhřimov Pelhřimov (german: Pilgrams) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts The ...

is a key work in that style. After 1918 Janák and Gočár developed Cubism into Czech Rondocubism, with decoration taken from folk and nationalist themes, and then subsequently into a purer functionalism. His 1925 Palace Adria is an unusually late example of integrated sculpture. As the chairman of the Czechoslovak Werkbund he drew up the master plan for the 1932 Baba Werkbund Housing Estate, the last of the European housing exhibitions, and also designed 3 of its 32 houses. He was also responsible for the design for the

Hussite Church The Czechoslovak Hussite Church ( cs, Církev československá husitská, ''CČSH'' or ''CČH'') is a Christian church that separated from the Catholic Church after World War I in former Czechoslovakia. Both the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and Mor ...

Vinohrady Královské Vinohrady (in English literally "Royal Vineyards" german: Königliche Weinberge) is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the muni ...

. In 1936 he took over from

Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge an ...

as the supervising architect of

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...

. Pavel Janák was also associated with the functionalist housing project in Prague known as Baba, the "Werkbond" inspired housing estate located on the outskirts of Prague. Pavel Janák created the Master Plan for this community, and was also in charge of selecting the architects that would be involved. Although Baba survived the World Wars, it is now in danger of historical extinction due to recent renovations and neglect. In 2006, the Government of the Czech Republic named Janák an Honorary Citizen of

Prague 6 Prague 6, formally the municipal district Prague 6 (''Městská část Praha 6''), is the largest Prague district. It is located in the north-west of Prague. It covers 41.54 km² and has 100,600 inhabitants (31.12.2008). The administrative ...

Gallery

Image:Praha Skoduv Palac.jpg, Škodův Palace, Prague Image:Prague PalacAdria jungmanovaSide.jpg, Palace Adria, Prague Image:Prague PalacAdria facade2.jpg, Palace Adria, Prague Image:Prague PalacAdria facade1.jpg, Palace Adria, Prague Bolzanova, stará trafika.jpg, Cubist kiosk near Bolzanova Street, Praha 1-Nové Město Baba - Lindová 02.jpg, Villa Linda (1933-1934)

References

External links

English-language biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janak, Pavel 1881 births 1956 deaths Architects from Prague Cubist architects 20th-century Czech architects Austro-Hungarian architects Czechoslovak architects