The Czechoslovak Werkbund and the Werkbund of the Germans in Czechoslovakia

• Applicant: Dr. Alena Janatková
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 247057220

The proposed research project examines the Czech/Czechoslovak Werkbund and the Werkbund of the Germans in Czechoslovakia, namely two different communities of interest from representatives of culture, the arts, science, technology, commerce and industry in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia between 1914 and 1948. The German Werkbund plays the key role as a model and reference point. Based on the program of the founding members the commitment of the protagonists is analyzed in its country-specific cultural context, in accordance with national and regional regulations and in terms of outside presence. Concerning the importance of the cultural institution Werkbund, the specific characteristics and potentials are moored in the local and national as well as in the historical context. The project is thus a contribution to the history of the Werkbund with special reference to differences of national, regional and cultural-political nature.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants