Brutalist Bank Building in Smichov District Praag
A Brutalist bank building in the shape of an octagonal bunker stands at the intersection of Sefanikovy and V Botanica streets in the Smíchov district of Prague. It is not a tourist attraction and most Czechs find the building hideous. Many believe that such buildings should be demolished the sooner the better. This might be its fate as it has been empty since 2023.
Architect Karel Prager (1923-2001)
Karel Prager known for his brutalist buildings such as Nova Scena, the glass building next to the National Theatre and the building that housed the parliament during the communist era and now part of the National Museum.
In the 1970s, the Czechoslovak State Bank commissioned him to design a building for use as one of their headquarters in the Smichov District. Construction started in 1977, lasted fifteen years and was completed in 1992, three years after the fall of communism. After the end of the communist era, the Komerční banka moved into the building and then moved out in early 2023.
Redevelopment of Smichov
In the 1970s, the city council had utopian plans for the redevelopment of the Smichov district. The plan was to connect buildings with each other using underground tunnels instead of regular streets. In the end, the State Bank of Czechoslovakia and the adjacent residential blocks were the only parts of the project that were realized.
The Bank Building in Smichov
The bank building was actually built as a strong room to store money which was to be transported to nearby businesses. It consists of a hall surrounded by offices.
Ceramic Tiles used on Prager’s Building
Unusual for bank buildings at the time, this Brutalist bank building was clad with ceramic tiles. It stored physical money, therefore stone cladding would have been more usual.
The tiles were produced in Bratsislava (a city in former Czechoslovakia and now the capital city of Slovakia) and widely used for apartment buildings in communist days.
An Eyesore?
This striking building is part of Prague’s architectural heritage and even if it is now considered ugly and an eyesore it reflects the city’s past.
More Brutalist Architecture in Prague
VIVO Hostivař Shopping Centre
Many years later, in 1998, Karel Prager designed a shopping centre that strongly resembled the bank building in Smichov. It is a small shopping centre with about sixty shops in the lower price segment and meets the needs of the local residents.
If you are interested in architecture and in particular Brutalist architecture, a visit to VIVO Hostivař should definitely be on your what-to-see-in-Prague list.
Brutalist Artwork by Krištof Kintera (1973)
In the Holubička Park, next to the Malostranska metro station, there is an artwork by Krišštof Kintera consisting of seven miniature versions of Prague Brutalist buildings, including the State Bank of Czechoslovakia. These types of buildings are considered ugly and are slowly being demolished one by one. Kintera disagrees with this because it erases the collective memory.
When you walk past the mini-buildings, you can see that they are all damaged. Krištof makes a statement here: although Brutalist buildings look robust, they are also vulnerable because they are demolished when they no longer fit into the streetscape.
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