Ivan Matušík
*12. 7. 1930 – Bratislava, Slovakia
†21. 2. 2022, Slovakia
Biography
Ivan Matušík represents another significant figure in the Slovak architectural scene of the 1960s to 1980s. His work is based on the traditions of functionalism and has often successfully built upon the qualities of modern European and global architecture. In 1969, he was awarded the Dušan Jurkovič Prize for the realization of the Prior department store and Hotel Kyjev in Bratislava, which in many ways recalls the significant modern building of the SAS hotel in Copenhagen by architect Arne Jacobsen. Ivan Matušík contributed to the architecturally exceptional, plastically modeled buildings of the 1960s with the excellent realization of the Baník Treatment House in Bojnice. In 1995, he was deservedly honored by the Union of Architects of Slovakia for his lifetime achievements (Emil Belluš Award).
Ivan Matušík represents another significant figure in the Slovak architectural scene of the 1960s to 1980s. His work is based on the traditions of functionalism and has often successfully built upon the qualities of modern European and global architecture. In 1969, he was awarded the Dušan Jurkovič Prize for the realization of the Prior department store and Hotel Kyjev in Bratislava, which in many ways recalls the significant modern building of the SAS hotel in Copenhagen by architect Arne Jacobsen. Ivan Matušík contributed to the architecturally exceptional, plastically modeled buildings of the 1960s with the excellent realization of the Baník Treatment House in Bojnice. In 1995, he was deservedly honored by the Union of Architects of Slovakia for his lifetime achievements (Emil Belluš Award).
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Realizations and projects
Architect Ivan Matušík belongs to the generation of the first graduates of the Bratislava Faculty of Architecture, whose establishment was initiated by Professor Emil Belluš. Matušík completed his architecture studies in 1953 with a graduation project in his studio, and references to his professor's creative credo are present in many of his works.
Matušík's debut is the covered swimming pool Lafranconi in Bratislava (1961), realized as an extension to the Lafranconi Dormitory by Klement Šilinger (1933), a work exceptionally sensitively situated on the banks of the Danube River. The swimming pool is attached to the southern side of the dormitory on the axis of symmetry, facing the river, and its southern glazed façade opens toward the water's surface.
Among his other early buildings, the Slimák shopping center (1960-64) holds a prominent place, which is part of the Hostinského housing estate in Bratislava. The center is shaped like a circle with a quarter cut-out, creating a harmonious semi-enclosed space with a fountain in the center. The supporting structures made of exposed concrete, rounded glass block walls, structurally bound perforated bricks inside, fan-shaped pavement made of andesite cubes, and other ingenious details drew admiration. The work already generated a response on a national level at the time of its creation. However, in the 1990s, it underwent a destructive reconstruction. Matúš Dulla wrote about its irretrievably lost qualities. “One of Matušík's first architectural works, the Slimák in Bratislava, became a beautiful example of relaxation and creative invention in Slovak architecture at the end of the 1950s... The characteristic handwriting of the author is fully manifested here: clear, clean, strict lines, cultivated mass solutions, and something akin to a geometric ornament... In 1993, after the privatization of the building, Slimák succumbed to ruthless reconstruction. The original values of the work have been destroyed to such an extent that there are no parallels...“ (2001)
At the age of thirty, Ivan Matušík won a competition for the construction of the complex at Kamenné námestie in Bratislava – a new commercial and social center for the city. Subsequently, the Prior department store (1968), Kyjev hotel (1973), and a connecting building with commercial facilities (1978) were systematically built according to his design. For his extraordinary contribution to the work, Matušík received several acknowledgments, including the Dušan Jurkovič Award for the department store in 1969. However, the future of the entire complex is uncertain under current social conditions.
In the creative and open atmosphere of the 1960s, architect Matušík, in collaboration with colleagues, participated in many domestic and international competitions, earning top placements as well. Notable examples include the exhibition pavilion in Lima, Peru (1960), House of Art Piešťany (1960), city center Most, Czech Republic (1961, 1st prize), international recreation facility Štrbské Pleso (1962, 1st prize), city hall Toronto, Canada (1961), kursaal center San Sebastián, Spain (1963).
An exceptional work by the architect from the 1960s is the Baník sanatorium in Bojnice (1968-73). Marián Zervan wrote about it: “The main artistic element of the façade of this work is the loggias enclosed with prefabricated concrete segments. The three-quarter cylinder of the bed area, built on a circular base, evokes the image of a fluted fragment of an ancient column. The building, as a semantic shorthand of pure classical architecture, presents a striking counterpoint to the eclectic architecture of Bojnice Castle.” (2003)
In 1961, Ivan Matušík became the chief designer at the State Project Institute of Trade in Brno, at the Bratislava studio, where he led the studio as director until 1989. In this studio, projects for shopping centers and department stores were developed and realized in several Slovak cities – Martin (1961-65), Žilina (1967-74), Nitra (1968-73), Levice (1982-86), and the project for the city market in Bratislava (1978-81). This period also includes two large unrealized competition projects: the project for a department store in Prague, Czech Republic (1971, later named Máj) and the project for a city center on Obchodná Street in Bratislava (1970, 1st prize).
Architect Matušík thoroughly applied his artistic and compositional creative principles in the design of his own family house in Bratislava (1978-83). The house's spatial arrangement is based on the classical division of a square into nine equal parts. This scheme was already used in the designs of villas by Andrea Palladio and later by Le Corbusier. At the center of the layout is a solid core with a bathroom, around which are freely developed living spaces. The shed roof has a significant inward slope, and under the roof runs a continuous strip window. The dominant feature of the house is its monomateriality, which is one of the core concepts of all Matušík's work. In the case of his own house, he chose ceramic material.
In the changed political and social conditions after 1989, architect Matušík's name met with wide acclaim among the professional and cultural community when he won 1st prize in a competition for the solution of the foothills in Bratislava (2002). He brought a bold concept of a rectangular cross-shaped structural solution, somewhat transforming the historical legacy of the area. It is an exceptionally exposed area in the central, monument-protected zone of the city, where historical buildings have been demolished. The opinion on the future shape and development of the area is not yet settled; several competitions have already taken place, and it is likely that architect Matušík's project will remain in the conceptual realm, as part of the professional discussion.
The architect's most recently realized works in the area of housing – family house Elipsion, Senecké lakes (2002), family house Patrium, Ivanka pri Dunaji (2005), and residential building Triangolo, Nitra (2008) testify to his unceasing creative energy and strong, mature authorship conviction. This is also confirmed by the awards and nominations of these three works. For his lifetime achievement, the Slovak Architects Union awarded Ivan Matušík the title of laureate of the Emil Belluš Award in 1995, and in 2007, he received the Krištáľové krídlo award in the architecture category, and in January 2012, he was awarded the Order of Ľudovít Štúr II. class by the president of the Slovak Republic.
Matušík's debut is the covered swimming pool Lafranconi in Bratislava (1961), realized as an extension to the Lafranconi Dormitory by Klement Šilinger (1933), a work exceptionally sensitively situated on the banks of the Danube River. The swimming pool is attached to the southern side of the dormitory on the axis of symmetry, facing the river, and its southern glazed façade opens toward the water's surface.
Among his other early buildings, the Slimák shopping center (1960-64) holds a prominent place, which is part of the Hostinského housing estate in Bratislava. The center is shaped like a circle with a quarter cut-out, creating a harmonious semi-enclosed space with a fountain in the center. The supporting structures made of exposed concrete, rounded glass block walls, structurally bound perforated bricks inside, fan-shaped pavement made of andesite cubes, and other ingenious details drew admiration. The work already generated a response on a national level at the time of its creation. However, in the 1990s, it underwent a destructive reconstruction. Matúš Dulla wrote about its irretrievably lost qualities. “One of Matušík's first architectural works, the Slimák in Bratislava, became a beautiful example of relaxation and creative invention in Slovak architecture at the end of the 1950s... The characteristic handwriting of the author is fully manifested here: clear, clean, strict lines, cultivated mass solutions, and something akin to a geometric ornament... In 1993, after the privatization of the building, Slimák succumbed to ruthless reconstruction. The original values of the work have been destroyed to such an extent that there are no parallels...“ (2001)
At the age of thirty, Ivan Matušík won a competition for the construction of the complex at Kamenné námestie in Bratislava – a new commercial and social center for the city. Subsequently, the Prior department store (1968), Kyjev hotel (1973), and a connecting building with commercial facilities (1978) were systematically built according to his design. For his extraordinary contribution to the work, Matušík received several acknowledgments, including the Dušan Jurkovič Award for the department store in 1969. However, the future of the entire complex is uncertain under current social conditions.
In the creative and open atmosphere of the 1960s, architect Matušík, in collaboration with colleagues, participated in many domestic and international competitions, earning top placements as well. Notable examples include the exhibition pavilion in Lima, Peru (1960), House of Art Piešťany (1960), city center Most, Czech Republic (1961, 1st prize), international recreation facility Štrbské Pleso (1962, 1st prize), city hall Toronto, Canada (1961), kursaal center San Sebastián, Spain (1963).
An exceptional work by the architect from the 1960s is the Baník sanatorium in Bojnice (1968-73). Marián Zervan wrote about it: “The main artistic element of the façade of this work is the loggias enclosed with prefabricated concrete segments. The three-quarter cylinder of the bed area, built on a circular base, evokes the image of a fluted fragment of an ancient column. The building, as a semantic shorthand of pure classical architecture, presents a striking counterpoint to the eclectic architecture of Bojnice Castle.” (2003)
In 1961, Ivan Matušík became the chief designer at the State Project Institute of Trade in Brno, at the Bratislava studio, where he led the studio as director until 1989. In this studio, projects for shopping centers and department stores were developed and realized in several Slovak cities – Martin (1961-65), Žilina (1967-74), Nitra (1968-73), Levice (1982-86), and the project for the city market in Bratislava (1978-81). This period also includes two large unrealized competition projects: the project for a department store in Prague, Czech Republic (1971, later named Máj) and the project for a city center on Obchodná Street in Bratislava (1970, 1st prize).
Architect Matušík thoroughly applied his artistic and compositional creative principles in the design of his own family house in Bratislava (1978-83). The house's spatial arrangement is based on the classical division of a square into nine equal parts. This scheme was already used in the designs of villas by Andrea Palladio and later by Le Corbusier. At the center of the layout is a solid core with a bathroom, around which are freely developed living spaces. The shed roof has a significant inward slope, and under the roof runs a continuous strip window. The dominant feature of the house is its monomateriality, which is one of the core concepts of all Matušík's work. In the case of his own house, he chose ceramic material.
In the changed political and social conditions after 1989, architect Matušík's name met with wide acclaim among the professional and cultural community when he won 1st prize in a competition for the solution of the foothills in Bratislava (2002). He brought a bold concept of a rectangular cross-shaped structural solution, somewhat transforming the historical legacy of the area. It is an exceptionally exposed area in the central, monument-protected zone of the city, where historical buildings have been demolished. The opinion on the future shape and development of the area is not yet settled; several competitions have already taken place, and it is likely that architect Matušík's project will remain in the conceptual realm, as part of the professional discussion.
The architect's most recently realized works in the area of housing – family house Elipsion, Senecké lakes (2002), family house Patrium, Ivanka pri Dunaji (2005), and residential building Triangolo, Nitra (2008) testify to his unceasing creative energy and strong, mature authorship conviction. This is also confirmed by the awards and nominations of these three works. For his lifetime achievement, the Slovak Architects Union awarded Ivan Matušík the title of laureate of the Emil Belluš Award in 1995, and in 2007, he received the Krištáľové krídlo award in the architecture category, and in January 2012, he was awarded the Order of Ľudovít Štúr II. class by the president of the Slovak Republic.
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