French schools

An exceptional complex of school buildings was created in the early 20th century when the popularity of the French language significantly increased in Bohemia. Therefore, in 1931, the Society for French Language Education announced an architectural competition, which was won by Jan Gillar with his design of a relaxed system of functionalist pavilions for a gymnasium, a secondary school, a kindergarten, a gymnasium, and a boarding house. Unfortunately, this design remained only on paper. The goal was to create an environment where a child spending a certain part of the day at school would feel as free as possible and have ideal conditions for learning. The greatest attention was given to light in the buildings, with large windows designed on the non-sunny side and smaller, sunlit windows on the opposite side. All surfaces were carefully calculated to provide students with a comfortable amount of light. In the pavilion for the primary school, the teaching was adapted for young children and partly took place outside on extended terraces, which, together with strip windows and a white facade, are characteristic elements of this gem of Czech functionalism.