The principles of functionalism became the leading programmatic direction of European architecture during the period between the two world wars. First, they were adopted in countries whose architecture was already actively involved in the emergence of modernity and went through all stages of further development. These early programmatic aspirations, artistic achievements, technical discoveries and new creative experiences gained in the first two decades of the 20th century created the preconditions for the spread of a new architectural concept.
The foundations of functionalism, formed in Holland, were adopted by Russia and afterwards by Germany.
In France itself, they did not spread. Exceptions include the work of A. Lurs, famous for his schools in Viljudo (1931-1933) and for his extensive theoretical work on architectural composition Form, Composition and Harmony (1937-1944).
In 1927 an exhibition of modern housing was held in Germany (Stuttgart). It was initiated by the German society Werkbund and brought together Le Corbusier, W. Gropius and other European architects, making the exhibition the first convincing international demonstration of functionalist creativity. She gave a number of prototypes of a modern house and prompted the organization of similar exhibitions in the future, for example, the VuVA exhibition in Wroclaw, where the “curved house” was presented - apartments for newlyweds and bachelors by G. Szarun, or a group of residential buildings called “New Life” at the exhibition modern culture in Brno in 1928, or the Baba district, built in the same year in accordance with the urban planning project of P. Janak with the participation of leading Czech architects and the Dutch architect M. Stam. The center of attempts to reform the dwelling and make construction more rational was Frankfurt, where a type of kitchen with a minimum size arose and where E. May and E. Kaufman in 1926 for the first time carried out on a mass scale the installation of scrap from standard elements during the construction of the Praunheim settlement.
In Belgium, L. de Konninck developed the industrial construction of standard semi-detached houses in Liege, and V. Bourgeois built the City Modern residential complex in Brussels (1922).
At the head of the Dutch functionalist architecture was J. I. P. Aud, who led the artistic aspirations of the Style group to a functional concept, in the spirit of which the residential groups in Hoek van Holland and Tusschendijken near Rotterdam (S924-1927), consisting of typical single-family homes. The striving for lighter construction and expediency of form found their vivid expression in the work of I. Duiker - the author of the project of a school in nature near Amsterdam (1930-1932) and the aerial architecture of the Sonnenstral pavilion sanatorium. The van Nelle factory is also a significant piece of Dutch architecture.
Functionalism and architecture of Czechoslovakia during the interwar period. The development and struggle for the establishment of the modern architecture of Czechoslovakia during the period between the world wars from the very beginning proceeded in two complementary directions. The first concerned the spread of functionalist views, the second was associated with the desire to revive the artistic and aesthetic quality of architecture and therefore denied a simple rationalization of form.
In the 1920s, functionalism became a leading principle in Czechoslovak architecture. Despite the fact that he was spread here under the influence of the architecture of other countries and was in opposition to the outgoing, but still quite strong academicism, in a very short time he went his own way, which brought the architecture of Czechoslovakia to the forefront in Europe.
The first projects and constructions of the new direction include the Prague Exhibition Palace, the Batya department store in Prague (1926-1928, author L. Kisela), the former Main Pension Institute and the building of the Transport Companies. (1926 - 1934, authors A. Benes, J. Krzhiz). With the clarity and consistency of revealing the modern image, these works were not inferior to the experiments of leading European architects.
Just as in Prague in the mid-1920s, a center of functionalist architecture, well-known abroad, emerged in Brno, primarily thanks to numerous modern buildings designed by B. Fuchs (Avion Hotel, 1938), E. Kralik, J. Vanka, J. Viska and other architects who in 1928 participated in the construction of the pavilions of the Brno fair.
The art-hit villa is evidence of close contacts of Czechoslovak architecture with the leading representatives of world architecture. Loos in Prague, the Tugendhat house designed by Mies vam der Rohe, the architectural activities of I. Plecnik, primarily during the reconstruction of Prague Castle (1920-1935), the synagogue in ilina designed by P. Behrens (1928) and Le Corbusier's participation in urban planning the decision of Mr. Zlin (now Mr. Gottwaldov). The artistic and typological maturity of functionalism in Czechoslovakia in the 30s is shown by the presence of a number of buildings of almost all types, in which the new functional organization of volumes and space was refined. These include schools, hospitals, a power plant in Kolin (1930, author J. Fragner), a shop of artistic and industrial products (1935, author O, Stary) ^ and the Bila Labut department store in Prague (1935, authors I. Gruby, J. Kittrich). E. Belush designed a bridge in Piestany (1930) and a mill with an elevator near Trnava. In Bratislava, a boarding school (1933, author K. Schillinger) and a sanatorium (D. Jurkovich and I. Merganz) were built. With these and many other buildings, functionalism in Czechoslovakia reaches its peak.
An exceptional phenomenon was the construction of a new industrial city of Zlin (now the Gottwalds) in accordance with the general general plan (1932-1934, by F. Gochur). An economical and technologically simple structure, representing a reinforced concrete frame in combination with brick filling and placed on the facade (this technique was retained in buildings built immediately after the Second World War), was used in most of the city's buildings, which gave it a specific character and unity.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the growing tendencies of rationality and a scientific approach to architecture found theoretical justification in the works of K-Teige and in the projects of the "Working Architectural Group", which united K. Janu, J. Sturza and J. Vozhenilek. The focus was also on the social issues of housing, theoretically developed by K. Teigem "Minimal Housing", 1932) and I. Krogoy in the so-called social housing unit 1933) and in subsequent proposals for socialist housing. These works gave impetus to the solution of residential complexes in Prague, Brno, Bratislava and to proposals for collective houses, projects of which were developed by J. Havlicek, K. Gonzik and the architects of the Left Front, who stood at the head of the progressive aspirations of Czechoslovak architecture. The architects belonged to one of the most active sections of the Left Front and in 1933 founded the Union of Socialist Architects in Prague.