Pavel Janák

Pavel Janák (12 March 1881 in Karlín – 1 August 1956 in Prague-Dejvice) was a Czech modernist architect, furniture designer, town planner, professor and theoretician.

In 1911, with the publication of an article The Prism and The Pyramid advocating dynamic architectural compositions and destabilizing traditional right-angled buildings, Janák became the leading theoretician of Czech Cubism.

After 1918 Janák and Gočár developed Cubism into Czech Rondocubism, with decoration taken from folk and nationalist themes, and then subsequently into a purer functionalism.

Pavel Janák was also associated with the functionalist Baba housing project in Prague, the Werkbund inspired housing estate located on the outskirts of Prague[2] Pavel Janák created the Master Plan for this community, and was also in charge of selecting the architects that would be involved.

Although Baba survived the World Wars, it is now in danger of historical extinction due to recent renovations and neglect.