The Wilsonova Building at the Main Railway Station

This is one of Art Nouveu Architecture, it is The main railway station, the largest, busiest and probably the dirtiest in the Czech Republic, used to be a thing of beauty. The Art Nouveau building with its station and ticket hall was designed by the Czech architect Josef Fanta and built between 1901 and 1909. The building had a grand, ornate Art Nouveau entrance and ticket hall complete with a small, decorated ceiling dome, customers would head for their trains in intricate style. Unfortunately during the Communist regime, some unattractive additions were made and the exterior grandeur of the original ticket hall and building was swallowed by the massive highway built directly in front of Wilsonova building, destroying the park in front and causing the old gem great dirt and structural damage. The Wilsonova Building, named after former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, was once a beautiful example of Art Nouveau architecture, however, the building is now in a total state of disrepair. The original ticket hall is now a dingy and faded, though beautiful cafe, named Fantova Kavarna after the architect Josef Fanta, and is just waiting with breath that is bated for a renovation. Tickets are now purchased underneath the cafe, in the Communist designed terminal, basically located underground; have a look around, it looks very similar to the Metro. Luckily the main train station in Prague is undergoing a massive renovation by Grandistazioni, an Italian company. Let us hope they restore the Art Nouveau grandeur that once so highly impressed passengers arriving to Prague for the first time.

Pictures for Wilsonova building





SOURCE : http://prague-stay.com/lifestyle/review/178-the-wilsonova-building-at-the-main-railway-station/

Posted By Ivan Putrama Karlo

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau, 1890-1914, explores a new style in the visual arts and architecture that developed in Europe and North America at the end of the nineteenth century. The exhibition is divided into three sections: the first focuses on the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, where Art Nouveau was established as the first new decorative style of the twentieth century; the second examines the sources that influenced the style; and the third looks at its development and fruition in major cities in Europe and North America.
At its height exactly one hundred years ago, Art Nouveau was a concerted attempt to create an international style based on decoration. It was developed by a brilliant and energetic generation of artists and designers, who sought to fashion an art form appropriate to the modern age. During this extraordinary time, urban life as we now understand it was established. Old customs, habits, and artistic styles sat alongside new, combining a wide range of contradictory images and ideas. Many artists, designers, and architects were excited by new technologies and lifestyles, while others retreated into the past, embracing the spirit world, fantasy, and myth.

Art Nouveau was in many ways a response to the Industrial Revolution. Some artists welcomed technological progress and embraced the aesthetic possibilities of new materials such as cast iron. Others deplored the shoddiness of mass-produced machine-made goods and aimed to elevate the decorative arts to the level of fine art by applying the highest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects. Art Nouveau designers also believed that all the arts should work in harmony to create a "total work of art," or Gesamtkunstwerk: buildings, furniture, textiles, clothes, and jewelry all conformed to the principles of Art Nouveau.

ART NOUVEAU ARCHITECTURE





link for Art Nouveau Architecture

SOURCE : http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/exhibit_intro.shtm
Posted By Ivan Putrama Karlo