The funeral hall - Brno-Židenice

The funeral hall at the cemetery in Brno-Židenice is a long-disused and deteriorating ceremonial building that was, in its time, an important example of a widely used architectural typology.

The idea of building a new ceremonial hall in Židenice emerged in the second half of the 1970s, when the city of Brno began to face a lack of facilities for the increasing need for funeral services for residents of the city and surrounding areas. The design was created in 1977 in the studio of architect Ivan Ruller. The project and construction documentation were prepared between 1979 and 1983 by Brnoprojekt, and construction began as a so-called “Akce Z” (community self-help project). The chief architect was Ing. arch. Pavel Šrubař, and the investor was the Technical and Greenery Administration of the City of Brno. The completed building was finished in 1985. The object is considered one of the most significant and well-known works of Ivan Ruller. It reflects interwar Nordic architecture and incorporates symbolic references to life and death (although these were not fully realised in the final construction), making it an emotionally charged example of modernist architecture.

The first rectangular volume was intended to represent the world of the living, the narrow central part the mythical river Styx, and the final rectangular volume the world of the dead. The roof above the central hall is shaped like a broken letter “V”. The exterior walls are clad in marble, split slate, and dark wooden slats. The entrance features a stone-clad access platform, glazing, and a structural colonnade. In the right-hand corner stands a dark lead sculpture titled Three Walkers by sculptor Olbram Zoubek.

Unfortunately, the quality of construction work proved insufficient, and various technical problems began to appear. The building was therefore closed in 2007. The City of Brno, as the owner, fenced it off and even considered demolition in 2011. However, this met with protests from local residents and architecture enthusiasts. The city ultimately decided to restore the building, and in 2022 a reconstruction was planned based on the winning design by architect Marek Štěpán.