Chata: Fenomén ve světě architektury

The exhibition maps the typology of cottages and small summer houses as an architectural theme in the context of the development of modern architecture in the 20th century.
The phenomenon of cottages, summer houses, and so-called "weekend houses" is connected with the overall emancipation of modern society during the 20th century. The development of industry and the general enrichment of European society, especially during the interwar era, provided workers with much more free time, which they chose to spend in nature. The phenomenon of vacationing in nature manifested itself in the emergence of summer residences, vacation villa settlements near large cities, and tramp enclaves. Whether they were luxurious summer houses or tramp huts, they all shared the desire to escape modern urban life and retreat to the tranquility and romance of untouched nature.
The exhibition "Cottage: A Phenomenon in the World of Architecture" evaluates the phenomenon of cottages and weekend houses as an important, yet often overlooked, typology in the development of modern architecture and residential design in the 20th century, which is related to the radical transformation of society and the reflection of the then-contemporary architectural and artistic avant-garde. The central theme of the exhibition consists of specific examples of the architecture of cottages and weekend houses and the genesis of their architecture throughout the 20th century from the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic to the end of the socialist era. All this is presented in the context of the international development of architecture, changes in modernist tendencies, and social and political structures.
The exhibition was curated by architecture historian and publicist Adam Štěch in collaboration with architect Jan Bureš. The exhibition is largely based on a rich photographic accompaniment created by Adam Štěch during his travels to cottages and summer houses around the world and in our country. The wide spectrum of European summer houses and cottages provides interesting comparisons of individual typologies and inspirational sources from modernist interpretations of alpine huts to Scandinavian models and beach houses in southern France. Štěch's own photographs are complemented by archival materials such as historical publications, original photographs, or plans and sketches of selected cottages. The exhibition also features original furniture from some cottage and summer house objects, as well as unique fragments from one of two cottages designed by visual artist Zdeněk Pešánek. The relationship between Zdeněk Pešánek and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague is very close: it was here that the first exhibition of Zdeněk Pešánek took place in 1936, and the last one in 1942; during the war, he was employed at the UPM, which saved him from occupation persecution; after the war, he founded the Society for Light and Light Art at the museum. The exhibition deliberately avoids a certain romanticization of a topic that is often presented as a Czech sociological phenomenon. Instead, it focuses on specific designs and typologies of modernist cottages and weekend houses designed by both prominent and lesser-known architects, which have long since been forgotten in history. Highly individualized or experimental projects meet general principles and standardization.

curator and concept author: Adam Štěch
co-curator: Jan Bureš
graphic design and installation: Matěj Činčera and Jan Kloss
collaboration: Iva Knobloch