Small architecture. Furniture and interior design of Dřevopodnik Holešov

A little-known regional manufacturer grew to become one of the leading Czechoslovak furniture companies in the second half of the 20th century. The key figure in this story is the architect and founder of Dřevopodnik Holešov Ludvík Volák (1909–1989), who managed to synthesise the Czech and Scandinavian furniture-making traditions in his work and create original furniture defined by the properties of wood laminate – lamellas created by recycling leftover veneers. Under his leadership, Dřevopodnik became the sole manufacturer of furniture made from this material in Central Europe. In the early 1960s, it began to develop rapidly, thanks in part to its collaboration with the Swedish company IKEA, for which it produced its first laminate models. At the same time, it established itself as a respected producer on the market in this country too, regularly presenting its own models for the interiors of homes and public buildings at furniture fairs in Brno, Ostrava, and Liberec. Furniture from Holešov was used to furnish the Czechoslovak pavilions at world exhibitions, Czechoslovak embassies, the Intercontinental Hotel and the Kotva department store, both in Prague, and the Thermal Hotel in Karlovy Vary. In symbiosis with numerous works of art, these buildings and their interiors represent the best of Czechoslovak visual culture of the period.

Small architecture. Furniture and interior design of Dřevopodnik Holešov -