Manufacturing a Socialist Modernity: Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960

400 Pages·2011·11.781 MB·English

by  Kimberly Elman Zarecor

Kimberly Elman Zarecor
Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945–1960
Manufacturing a SocialiSt Modernity
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Pitt SerieS in ruSSian and eaSt euroPean StudieS
Jonathan harriS, editor
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Manufacturing a SocialiSt Modernity
Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945–1960
Kimberly elman Zarecor
University of PittsbUrgh Press
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Published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15260
Copyright © 2011, University of Pittsburgh Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Text design and typesetting by Kachergis Book Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zarecor, Kimberly Elman.
Manufacturing a socialist modernity : housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945–1960 /
Kimberly Elman Zarecor.
p. cm. — (Pitt series in Russian and East European studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-8229-4404-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-8229-4404-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Architecture, Domestic—Czechoslovakia—History—20th century.
2. Architecture, Domestic—Political aspects—Czechoslovakia—History—
20th century. 3. Architecture and state—Czechoslovakia—History—
20th century. 4. Dwellings—Czechoslovakia—Design and construction—
History—20th century. 5. Housing—Czechoslovakia—History—20th century.
6. Socialism—Czechoslovakia—History—20th century. 7. Social change—
Czechoslovakia—History—20th century. 8. Modern movement (Architecture)—
Czechoslovakia—History—20th century. 9. Czechoslovakia—Social condi-
tions—1945–1992. I. Title.
na7412.c9Z37 2011
720.9437´09045—dc22
2010045864
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For Scott and Maximilian
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Writing a Postwar History 1
1 Phoenix Rising: Housing and the Early Debates on
Socialist Modernity 13
2 Typification and Standardization: Stavoprojekt and the
Transformation of Architectural Practice 69
3 National in Form, Socialist in Content: Sorela and
Architectural Imagery 113
4 A Vision of Socialist Architecture: The Late Career of
Jiří Kroha 177
5 The Industrialization of Housing: Zlín and the Evolution
of the Panelák 224
Epilogue 295
notes 299
Bibliography 361
Illustration Credits 369
Index 371
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ACknowledgments
There are many people to thank for their help and support with this proj-
ect. Kenneth Frampton showed me the many ways that an architect can be a
designer—through buildings, words, and texts. His passion for architecture
inspired me to be a better scholar and teacher, and for his guidance, support,
and patience I will always be grateful. Bradley F. Abrams has been a won-
derful mentor, friend, and enthusiastic reader. When no one else was inter-
ested in the small details, his office door was always open, and I thank him
for his encouragement and advice. I am also indebted to Reinhold Martin,
Jorge Otero-Pailos, and Jean-Louis Cohen for their support, suggestions, and
patience through a long project.
When I first decided to write a book about former Czechoslovakia, I did not
know the country’s languages, history, or architectural past. My first exposure
to the Czech Republic was a weekend visit in 1999 to see the Tugendhat House
in Brno with a group led by Terrence Riley from the Museum of Modern Art in
New York and Barry Bergdoll from Columbia University. Not only did the house
astonish me but I also discovered a beautiful city full of modern buildings by
architects with unknown names and precious few resources in Western Euro-
pean languages to tell me more. For this first glimpse of modernism in the for-
mer Czechoslovakia, I am grateful to them. I also thank Mary McLeod, Robin
Middleton, Catherine Nepomnyashchy, Joan Ockman, Mark von Hagen, Rich-
ard Wortman, and Gwendolyn Wright. Marcela Ehrlich-Rýdlová, Peter Kussi,
and Christopher Harwood taught me Czech—without them, this project would
not have been possible.
This project benefited from the support of many academic communities.
I consider it a privilege to have studied with so many talented and brilliant
ix
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