Alois Houba

Alois Houba was well-known as an architect. From 1946 he worked at the Institute of Drawing and Painting of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Brno University of Technology. He was later appointed professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at the Technical University in Praha, where he also served as dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Economics. He designed functionalist houses and university buildings between the wars and after World War II. Houba was also an active rower and then coach of the Praha (Prague) women’s team.

The eights rowing race on the river Vltava was founded in 1895 by Bohemian sports and Olympic pioneer Josef Rössler-Ořovský. The women’s races started in 1934. The challenge prize Frauenachter (Wanderpreis für das Prager Frauenachter-Rennen) (Women’s Eights – Challenge Trophy for the Praha Women’s Eights Race) was donated by Alois Houba and designed by Ladislav Toman. It was submitted to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, although Toman died in 1935, and was awarded until the end of the1950s. Then it was badly damaged during transport and only restored in 1978. Since then, the relief has been awarded again as the prize for the women’s eights competition.

Houba’s entry in the applied graphics’ section was a poster advertising the 6th World Archery Championships. They were held in Masaryk Stadium (now Evžena Rošického Stadium) in Praha from 13-17 August 1936.