On July 1, the International Day of Architects, an exciting exhibition about one of the most talented architects of Kaunas before WW2. The title, ‘ARNO FUNK[TIONALISM] (1898–1957)’, is a wordplay with his surname and the character of his projects. The exhibition is located in one of the architect's creations, the A. and P. Galaunė house-museum, and will be open for a year.

Arno Funk was also one of the most interesting and enigmatic architects of the interwar Kaunas. Little is known about his life, but the buildings he designed tell stories about interwar Lithuania, the modernisation of Kaunas, its architecture, its inhabitants and daily life.

Arno Funk’s architecture is characterised by a unique combination of elegance and functionality. He designed functional homes with beautiful facades and charming interiors. He added elegance to industrial plants and dignity to public buildings.

Adelė and Paulius Galaunė House. Circa 1930

Curated by Dr Marija Drėmaitė (Vilnius University), the exhibition dedicated to the architect’s work is shown in the house he designed for Adelė and Paulius Galaunė (1932). The exhibition designed by Vika Pranaitytė (O-D-A . architecture studio) consists of four parts: The Galaunė house, the interior salon, the residential hall and the public buildings study. Arno Funk’s unique attention to the beauty and functionality of everyday environments is revealed through photographs, designs, the personalities of the clients and the sparse biographical material that has survived.

 

Exhibition photos by Vika Pranaitytė

Arno Funk studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule Berlin in 1920–1924, and upon return to Kaunas began working with the architect Prof. Mykolas Songaila for the Bank of Lithuania. He also designed privately under the patronage of his father-in-law, Prof. Silvestras Grinkevičius.

In 1934, he received a diploma in civil engineering from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas. In the summer of 1944, he and his wife Valerija Grinkevičiūtė fled to Germany, settling in Pinneberg near Hamburg, where he died in 1957.

Among Funk’s other works in Kaunas, some of the most interesting are the Malcai house on Vytauto pr. 31 and K. Langienė house on Kęstučio g. 31, both designed while the architect was finishing his studies.

Malcai house. Photo courtesy of Kaunas County Public Library.

Malcai house. Photo courtesy of Kaunas County Public Library.

Based on information by Ciurlionis.lt