COMING SOON: Concrete, emotions, and disappearing Prague. We're preparing a major deep dive into the world of Brutalism

The Design Museum in Malá Strana is breathing life into its next chapter. While our main exhibition tells the story of design as a whole, behind the scenes, we are piecing together a mosaic of something raw, bold, and fascinating for you. Get ready for brutalism – a movement that some love, others condemn, but no one can ignore.

Brutalist architecture and design of the 1960s to 1980s left an indelible mark on Prague's streets. However, many of these traces have been irreversibly disappearing in recent years. At the Design Museum, we have decided to rescue these fragments and tell their story before they turn to dust.

What can we entice you with already?

We have already acquired pieces for our premises that carry the "genius loci" of vanished or endangered Prague icons. Here's a small taste of what you'll soon see in a new context:

The Phantom of Transgas: We have a rare decorative element from the staircase of the legendary Transgas complex, which was demolished in 2019. It's a fascinating combination of chrome, glass, and "space-age" aesthetics. Today, it's one of the few surviving fragments of a building that defined Prague brutalism.

Seating at the Golden Snake: Imagine a unique armchair by Olbram Zoubek with a concrete base in the shape of a coiled snake. This piece was created in the 1970s for the now-defunct U Zlatého hada (At the Golden Snake) cafe. It's perfect proof that even concrete can be incredibly sculptural and elegant in design.

Why brutalism?

Because the design of that era wasn't just about grey and concrete. It was about the courage to experiment with new materials, about technical progress, and about the effort to create a total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk) where architecture, furniture, and detail form a single whole.

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We are currently preparing a full-fledged exhibition focused on this fascinating and controversial style for you. It will be a journey between raw concrete, shiny metal, and visionary ideas that were ahead of their time.

In the meantime, stop by our exhibition "Evolution of Modern Design," where you can already glimpse these first signs. And remember – brutalism is not just a style, it's an attitude!

Details about the exhibition opening date will be announced soon. Follow our website and Instagram so you don't miss anything.