Barrandov Terraces, Functionalist building complex and observation tower in Barrandov, Prague, Czech Republic
Barrandov Terraces is a functionalist complex on the slope of Habrová hill, dominated by Max Urban's lookout restaurant Terasy, a long dark-panelled block with a flat roof and a grid of tall rectangular windows. A lower wing projects forward on the left. Below the Barrandov rock lies Václav Kolátor's 1930 pool, 50 by 18 metres, with a diving tower holding one ten-metre and one five-metre board.
The complex was built between 1927 and 1931 by architect Max Urban, commissioned by Václav M. Havel with design inspiration drawn from San Francisco's Cliff House. This brought modernist ideas from America to Prague during a period of cultural growth.
Before World War II, the place served as a gathering spot where Prague's social elite mingled with film stars working at the nearby Barrandov Studios. This made it a center for artistic and intellectual life in the city.
The complex stands on the slope of Habrová hill above Hlubočepy, reached on foot by a path from the tram terminus in Hlubočepy, or by car along a road cut into rocky serpentines with a car park in the first bend. The pool measured 50 by 18 metres, with stands for up to 4,000 visitors.
The pool was filled with water from the Vltava, and after the Slapy and Štěchovice dams were built the water stayed too cold for swimming; the pool closed in 1966. A special food lift carried meals down from the terraces restaurant to the poolside.
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