One of the most significant representations of Czech architecture from the 1970s is the Máj department store, which was built at the corner of Spálená and Národní streets. The architectural design of the building followed on inter-war Functionalist architecture with elements of Brutalism, and the interior reflected the high-tech architectural style of the renowned SIAL studio. Over its existence, the department store has changed names several times: Prior 02 – Máj – K-Mart – Tesco – MY – Máj. Recently, the building underwent a complete renovation, with two butterfly sculptures by the artist David Černý placed on the facade. Miroslav Masák — John Eisler — Martin Rajniš — Václav Voda Department store 02 / Máj in Prague, 1971—1975 Národní 26, Praha 1 – Nové Město The most significant work from the 1970s by the SIAL studio, Prague’s 02 / Máj department store, designed by Miroslav Masák, John Eisler, and Martin Rajniš, underwent a similar evolution. The project, which stemmed from a limited competition in 1971, resulted in a highly articulated machine-like building, echoing the recent works of Stirling. In its final version, completed in 1974—1975 by the Swedish firm ABV, the building became a simply shaped container, dramatically sloping into Spálená Street and featuring a transparent escalator hall at its end, where visitors could be seen moving inside. There were no discussions about the Máj building in Czech architectural journals, as though it didn’t exist at all, but Western experts gave this work by SIAL significant attention, starting with French architect Paul Chemetov and his book La Modernité un projet inachevé of 1983. The taboo imposed on their works by the normalisation regime was broken by SIAL beyond the borders of Czechoslovakia. +6 photos view SIAL, Association of Engineers and Architects in Liberec – a studio founded in early July 1968 in Liberec by architects Karel Hubáček, Miroslav Masák, Jaromír Vacek and Otakar Binar, with structural engineers Václav Voda and Zdeněk Patrman. The studio branched off from Stavoprojekt Liberec, which it had to rejoin in 1971. Hubáček and Masák founded the SIAL school alongside the studio in 1969. Thanks to projects from the late 1960s, such as Hubáček’s and Patrman’s Ještěd tower, Vacek’s apartment building in Wolkerova Street, and Masák’s and Hubáček’s Ještěd shopping centre in Liberec, SIAL briefly became the most vibrant hub of architectural creativity in Czechoslovakia. The studio aimed to avoid tasks rooted in typification, instead seeking out extraordinary projects that architects and inventive technicians could work on as equals. International recognition, such as awards for the Ještěd tower and later for the Teplice Concert Hall with a colonnade, demonstrates the studio’s global importance. Excerpted from the book Architecture 58–89 Publication concept, editor, author of discussions: Vladimir 518 Obchodní dům Máj 2024 | Source: commons.wikimedia.org