15 pp. introductory text by Wirth, followed by 32 full-page plates regarding the architecture of the town of Hradec Králové. Large quarto (12 1/8 x 9 1/8 inches). Cloth with author and title stamped in red. Mild soiling to cloth, spine shaken and repaired at some point, overall very good. Prague/Vienna: Prumyslová tiskárna/Editions "Aida", (1930).

Josef Gocár (1880-1945) was a Czech architect and one of the founders of the modern architecture movement in the Czech Republic. He studied under Jan Kotera at the School of Applied Arts in Prague, and then joined first the Mánes Union of Fine Arts and after the Cubist Group of Visual Artists. In 1912, he cofounded the Prague Art Workshops along with Pavel Janák, Josef Chochol, and Odolen Grégr. In the 1920s, Gocár turned away from cubism to the "national" Czech Rondocubism style, and then later the Functionalist style. One of his best-known works was the Czechoslovak Pavilion for the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris, for which he was awarded the Grand Prize.

The city of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic dates back to approximately the 12th century, and started undergoing industrialization in the mid-19th century. In 1884, an international competition for the city's regulatory plan was announced, with the first buildings being constructed in the 1890s. In the early 20th century, Jan Kotera led the city's development, and in the 1920s the role passed to Gocár. His regulatory plan, which he created from 1926 to 1928, became the basis for construction activity in the city in the coming years.

This volume illustrates that plan, with 32 plates showing street layouts, floor plans, models, photographs of building interiors and exteriors, and building elevations, with depictions including schools, churches, squares, and memorials. The architecture reflects Gocár's mature Functionalist style.

Scarce institutionally.

Book ID: 53597

Price: $1,250.00