The Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry

The Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry is undoubtedly one of the revolutionary post-war achievements in Czechoslovakia. The two-winged building, constructed between 1960 and 1964, was one of the first to stylistically distance itself from the established socialist realism and introduced a number of new materials and technical procedures. Lightweight suspended panels appeared here, likely inspired by the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who conceived the facade as the building’s envelope. The construction of this modern glass complex in Prague’s Petřiny district was consulted with the Institute’s first director, Otto Wichterle, a renowned inventor who has a monument erected in front of the building. The fact that the Institute was declared a cultural monument in 2000 testifies to the significance of Prager’s work.