Jaroslav Otruba
*11. 11. 1916 – Olomouc, Czech Republic
†5. 2. 2007 – Prague, Czech Republic
Biography
Jaroslav Otruba was a Czech architect, urban planner, designer, and painter. He is best known as the author of the colorful aluminum cladding of line A of the Prague Metro, which is often compared to the creations of op-art from the 1960s.
He was born in Olomouc as the son of a carpenter. He completed seven years of high school at the I. State Real Gymnasium in Prague-Karlín. In 1934, he enrolled at the Czech Technical University in Prague to study architecture under Prof. Mendel, urban planning under Prof. Mikuškovice, and drawing and painting in the studio of Prof. Blažíček. During the occupation, after the closure of universities, which forced him to interrupt his studies, he joined the design office of acad. arch. F. Stalmach and J. Svoboda in Prague, where he worked as an architect until 1945. In the same year, he passed his state exam (with distinction), the diploma of which was granted retroactively by the Ministry of Education for the year 1940. After the war, he took a position as an assistant at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague and became involved in the establishment of the Institute of Health Construction Architecture. Here he worked on an extensive theoretical study of hospital operating departments, which he subsequently submitted as his dissertation. Based on it, he was appointed Doctor of Technical Sciences in 1953. From 1945 until 1959, Jaroslav Otruba worked at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague. Initially, he participated (as an assistant) in the establishment of the Institute of Health Construction Architecture, and in 1959 he was selected by the dean's college for design work on the construction of the Czech Technical University in Prague-Dejvice. Due to political changes at the faculty and pressure on educators who did not comply with the then-political demands, Otruba decided to leave in 1960. He then obtained a position as a lead designer at the State Institute of Transport Planning, and in 1970 he was transferred to the newly established Metroprojekt as the chief architect responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Prague Metro, lines A and C.
Jaroslav Otruba was a Czech architect, urban planner, designer, and painter. He is best known as the author of the colorful aluminum cladding of line A of the Prague Metro, which is often compared to the creations of op-art from the 1960s.
He was born in Olomouc as the son of a carpenter. He completed seven years of high school at the I. State Real Gymnasium in Prague-Karlín. In 1934, he enrolled at the Czech Technical University in Prague to study architecture under Prof. Mendel, urban planning under Prof. Mikuškovice, and drawing and painting in the studio of Prof. Blažíček. During the occupation, after the closure of universities, which forced him to interrupt his studies, he joined the design office of acad. arch. F. Stalmach and J. Svoboda in Prague, where he worked as an architect until 1945. In the same year, he passed his state exam (with distinction), the diploma of which was granted retroactively by the Ministry of Education for the year 1940. After the war, he took a position as an assistant at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague and became involved in the establishment of the Institute of Health Construction Architecture. Here he worked on an extensive theoretical study of hospital operating departments, which he subsequently submitted as his dissertation. Based on it, he was appointed Doctor of Technical Sciences in 1953. From 1945 until 1959, Jaroslav Otruba worked at the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Czech Technical University in Prague. Initially, he participated (as an assistant) in the establishment of the Institute of Health Construction Architecture, and in 1959 he was selected by the dean's college for design work on the construction of the Czech Technical University in Prague-Dejvice. Due to political changes at the faculty and pressure on educators who did not comply with the then-political demands, Otruba decided to leave in 1960. He then obtained a position as a lead designer at the State Institute of Transport Planning, and in 1970 he was transferred to the newly established Metroprojekt as the chief architect responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Prague Metro, lines A and C.
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
