Brutalism in a Border Town: The Story of the OD Dyje Department Store in Znojmo and Its (Un)Deserved Criticism

Abstract

Brutalism in a Border Town: The Story of the OD Dyje Department Store in Znojmo and Its (Un)Deserved Criticism
The study deals with the genesis and course of the construction of the Dyje Department Store in Znojmo (project 1967, realization 1971–1975), one of the most controversial realizations in the style of late brutalism in socialist Czechoslovakia. It traces the critical debate over the design and attempts to clarify the reasons behind the misunderstanding of the work of the father and son Fuchs and the rejection of its aesthetics by the general public. He concludes by considering the reasons why previous attempts to preserve the architecture of 1960s – 1980s brutalism have been met with controversy and rejection by the Czech public.