Slovak architect Vladimír Dedeček has died at the age of 91 on April 29, 2020, reported by Pravda. 

Known as "functionalist", his building portfolio, comprises over 100 buildings, brought innovative and radical solutions to Slovak architecture. Commonly active in Bratislava, Dedeček's built projects are located in Bratislava, Zvolen, Nitra or Tatranská Lomnica.

Vladimír Dedeček, mainly devoted himself to school buildings, designed several modernist and controversial projects during his professional career. 

The extension of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava from 1979, House of Culture Dúbravka in Bratislava, the Slovak National Archive from 1928, Incheba administrative buildings, university dormitories (atrium houses) in Mlynská dolina, the Supreme Court, the Faculty of Science and the State Central Archive (now the Slovak National Archive) are among his key buildings. 

Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, hall interior. Image © Peter Kuzmin

The Highest Court in Bratislava, Political school in Modra or University of Agriculture in Nitra were a few controversial buildings of Vladimír Dedeček from the communist era. 

The buildings were conceived as "false interpretations and seeking a parallellism to Oscar Niemeyer's New Brasília and Luigi Nervi´s Palazetto dello Sport." The other one is the Slovak National Gallery.

The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, designed with Rudolf Miňovský, was awarded the Dušan Jurkovič Prize in 1966. Having specialized on school buildings, he collaborated with the architect Rudolf Minovský. They started to work on the design of the university campus of the University of Agriculture, today the Slovak University of Agriculture (SPU) in Nitra. 

Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Rectorate and Maximum Hall. Image courtesy of StavbaWEB

Born in Martin in 1929, Dedeček studied architecture at the Slovak Technical University under professors Emil Belluš and Vladimír Karfík. His professional career began in 1955 and continued till the end in 1994. 

The Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. Image © Peter Kuzmin

His modernist vision of architecture was not noticed until the period of socialist realism in the 1950s. 

Vladimír Dedeček was one of the most controversial and influential figures in Slovakian post-war architecture, favoured by the regime and credited with most representative public buildings.

Image © Peter Kuzmin

Slovak National Archive is the main and the biggest archive of Slovakia. Image courtesy of Socialist Modernism/Tumblr 

According to Pravda, in January 2016, Vladimír Dedeček received a state award - Pribin's Cross II. classes for many years of extraordinary merits for the cultural development of the Slovak Republic in the field of architecture.

Top image: Vladimír Dedeček © Architect Vladimír Dedeček with a model of the Multipurpose Exhibition Facility in Bratislava around 1974. Image courtesy of StavbaWEB. 

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