Discussion: Prague - Continuity in Urban Reconstruction
For more than 1000 years Prague has been the undisputed centre of Bohemia, and has one of the largest, nearly intact, medieval city centres in Europe. After the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Prague not only underwent a vigorous period of building, but developed simultaneously into one of the most important centres of Modernism. For this reason, Prague is today probably the one city in Europe whose buildings have featured Functionalist architecture most consistently. The enormous cultural upsurge was interrupted when the Communists came to power in 1948. This did, however, conserve the architectural heritage, placing it in an artificial coma, out of which it was rudely awakened after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The stock of historic, old buildings, neglected for more than fifty years, and whose ownership was often unclear, led to a huge log-jam in renovation. The new need for retail and office space could, in this situation, initially only be satisfied by new buildings (generally of doubtful quality). It is easy to understand that the city authorities were not at first ready to cope with the unfamiliar demand for capital. On the other hand, Prague did possess the potential of a flexible, well-educated community of architects, solidly anchored in the tradition of modern Czech architecture through the influence of an intermediate generation of teachers who had been close to the avant-garde SIAL group. The city reconstruction that was about to take place could also draw strength from Prague's tradition of highly developed and sensitive care for historic monuments and of the generally high value placed on buildings of historic importance, industrial buildings included. A centre dedicated to researching the city's industrial heritage was founded at the Technical University in Prague.
