#inter-war architecture — Modernist Delights

Palác Alfa, Brno, Czechia, 2026

The façade of a modernist building features a grid of white rectangular panels and multiple rows of windows. The ground floor has large glass shopfront windows displaying hanging plants and the text Kadeřnický Salon printed on the glass.

A street view in a city centre shows a modern glass-fronted office building nestled between two older, cream-coloured buildings. A blue sign reading SKY ICE BAR hangs on the left corner, whilst pedestrians and a person walking a small dog stroll along the stone-paved pavement.

Sometimes, a building captures my attention for reasons that aren’t always immediately obvious.

Palác Alfa is an inter-war complex of retail and housing in the functionalist style, designed by Czech architect Bohuslav Fuchs. It is the retail element which interests me the most – an intricately detailed arcade featuring curved glass, metal window frames and balustrades, and a clock to make Preston bus station turn green with envy.

The current interior is primarily a result of post-war reconstruction, with the arcade having been severely damaged during the war. Original functionalist details have also been restored during later reconstructions, such as when the original cinema in the basement was adapted for use by the HaDivadlo theatre.

I didn’t enter the arcade when I visited because I didn’t realise what awaited me inside, but there are great photos of the interior on the Alfa Passage website.

Palác Morava, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A multi-storey corner building with a red-brick façade and a white stone-clad corner section stands at a city intersection. The ground floor features shopfronts with green frames and Sklizeno signs, while tram tracks curve across the foreground under a cloudy blue sky.

A curved block of flats with a red-brick and white-tiled façade stands against a blue sky with scattered clouds. The street-level shopfronts feature signs for Utopia Čajovna, Ryor, and a Fitness 2000, with cars parked along the pavement in the foreground.

An urban building with a curved façade of red brick and light-coloured concrete stands against a blue, cloudy sky. Multiple rows of windows are visible, and the ground floor features shopfront windows with signs that read Jídelna and Bez lepková. Black trolley wires cross the upper frame.

A multi-storey building with a rounded, red-brick corner façade rises above a street-level commercial area. Shops include a tea room labelled Utopia, a Ryor cosmetics store, and a Fitness 3000 gym, with several parked cars lining the pavement under a bright blue sky.

Palác Morava is a building of two halves – an older 6 storey half (the last 3 pictures here, built 1929), and a newer 4 storey half (the first picture, built 1936).

It’s mainly the older part of the building which appeals to me – it’s a concrete frame clad in attractive decorative patterned brick, and the inward curve of the upper storeys provides visual interest.

The building is surrounded by tram tracks on all sides, which does make it rather difficult to photograph cleanly.

Centrum department store, Brno, Czechia, 2026

A wide view shows the tall, glass-fronted Centrum building standing in a city square, with CENTRUM in bold red letters on its roof. Pedestrians walk along the paved street in the foreground, flanked by buildings with tan and dark walls under a partly cloudy blue sky.

A modern, grid-like glass office building stands under a bright blue sky, topped with a large red sign reading CENTRUM. The ground floor features a Lidl supermarket entrance, whilst the reflective glass facade mirrors the surrounding city buildings and clouds.

Built in 1930-31 as a building for the shoe manufacturer Baťa — I’ve written about their Centrální sklad obuvi in Zlín before. It was intended to be the first skyscraper in Europe, at 28 floors. Ultimately, construction was stopped at only 8 floors, due to issues with the subsoil and building foundations, and likely the controversial nature of the project as well, as the site was within the Brno Urban Conservation Area. Ah, well, perhaps they should’ve tried building it in the Northern Quarter instead.

In the 1960s, the building was remodelled, losing its’ trademark black and white striped look with a new all-glass facade.

Former Lloyds Bank, Stoke-on-Trent, 2026

A small brick building with tall, old windows stands on a sunny street. A black car with a person driving passes by in front. There’s a wooden bus shelter to the left, and other parked cars to the right. The sky is clear and blue.

A brown brick building with large rectangular glass windows arranged in a grid, flat roof, and short wings on each side. Three black and yellow bollards and a small step are at the roadside in front. Reflections of other buildings are visible in the windows.

McMillan Reading Room, Glasgow, 2025

A large, brick building with a tall arched window and double glass doors at the entrance. Several people are gathered on the steps and walkway outside. Sunlight filters through trees flanking the building, and the sky is partly cloudy.

A curved brick building with tall, narrow windows, each covered by vertical metal bars. Greenery and overgrown plants are in the foreground, and a modern building with blue-green glass panels is visible in the background.

A close-up of a brick building façade with four tall, narrow windows. The windows have white frames and vertical bars. The glass reflects the blue sky, clouds, and parts of nearby buildings. Green foliage is partly visible on the left.

A curved brick building with tall narrow windows, a lamp-post, and an exterior staircase with a metal railing leading to a doorway. Bushes line the wall, and a tree with green and orange leaves is visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

People, in my photos. Actually groundbreaking.