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House of the Trade Unions (Dům odborových svazů)
náměstí W. Churchilla Praha 3 - Žižkov http://www.praguewelcome.cz/srv/www/en/objects/detail.x?id=47704About
House of the Trade Unions | One of the most important buildings of the Czech Functionalism in the interwar period, and the first Prague skyscraper - that is the former palace of the General Pensions Institute. There used to be Žižkov gas plant in this area, demolished after the construction of the gas plant in Michle. On this occasion, remains of the famous Krocín Renaissance Fountain were found in the building’s foundations, a fountain which used to be placed at the Old Town Square. Young architects Karel Honzík and Josef Havlíček won the architectural competition for the construction of the building. This official building was built during the economic recession, so there was a lot of criticism. Its ground plan is cross-shaped, with two couples of the office room bands meet in the middle in the lounge with adjoining staircases and elevators. This layout ensured ideal usage of daylight in the individual rooms. An office booth was the essential building unit with a size 3.4 times 5.6 m; and there were 700 of these and the first officials started working here as early as in 1934. This construction had a significant plus due to standardized ferro-concrete structure and all other equipment. The building was lined with light ceramic boards sized 20 x 40 cm. Metal window constructions were yet another example of modern features. The building was the first fully air-conditioned house in Czechoslovakia, the facilities of which served the purpose of heating in winter and cooling in summer. A bust of T. G. Masaryk by Otakar Švec was installed in the large assembly hall. Later on, there were offices of the Central Council of Trade Unions in the house, and today it is called the House of the Trade Unions.
