The legend of Brno architecture Ivan Ruller will celebrate his ninetieth birthday

Prague - Architect Ivan Ruller is primarily associated with Brno through his work. He enriched the city with projects such as the Rondo Hall and the Janáček Theatre. Buildings designed by Ruller also stand in Bratislava, at the Dalešice Water Works, in Kroměříž, Hodonín, Prague, and elsewhere. The list of works that he contributed to modern Czech architecture includes over 500 items. This November 17, Ivan Ruller will celebrate his ninetieth birthday.

Ruller studied under prominent Brno architects, including Bohuslav Fuchs and especially Bedřich Rozehnal, with whom he was an assistant during his studies. He worked for five years at the school under Professor Miroslav Kopřiva, but in 1959 he had to leave involuntarily. He then went through several design institutes, and between 1968 and 1979 he worked in the Office of the Chief Architect, later earning a living as an independent architect.

The influence of functionalism from the 1930s and modernism is clearly evident in his work. He also participated in international competitions. Among his awarded designs was the project for the Square of Nations in Geneva (1957), a study for a town hall in Toronto (1958), the Czech pavilion in Osaka (1968), and he collaborated on the memorial in Auschwitz and the establishment of a history museum in Tripoli, Libya.

In Czechoslovakia, he was disfavoured for his positions under the former regime. From 1970 to 1989, his membership in the Union of Architects was banned, and for 20 years he was not allowed to publish or teach. However, he managed to maintain distance and was not afraid to work with "forbidden" artists such as Vladimír Preclík and Olbram Zoubek.

After 1989, he served as dean of the Faculty of Architecture for four years and became a professor in 1994. In 2003, President Václav Klaus awarded him the Medal of Merit for services to the state in the field of art. A year later, he received the Award of the Architects' Association for his lifetime achievement.