Architect and designer, born into a mixed Czech-German family (until 1918, he also used the German version of his name, Gottfried Franz Anton Czermak). Completed German secondary school and in 1897–1900 studied at the German state technical school. In 1900–1903, Čermák attended the Technical University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he considered himself a student of Otto Wagner and also worked in the studio of Adalbert Pasdirek-Coreno. After returning to Brno, he worked for Josef Nebehosteny’s construction company, founded his own architectural and drafting office in 1908, and was active in a number of public associations. Early in his career he was clearly most inclined towards Viennese modernism. In 1910/1911, he founded the Bürgerliche Handwerkskunst (Civic craftsmanship) company in Brno, which focused on comprehensive interior solutions including the production of furniture and home accessories, small artistic objects, toys and more, often made according designs by Čermák himself. Photographs of his interiors were regularly published in the prestigious magazine Innendekoration and other journals. In the late 1920s, he began to move towards modern architecture, especially Constructivism. In the early 1930s, he was made director of the technical and installation department of the ASO company, designing most of the company’s department stores in Czechoslovakia. Bohumír Čermák lived and worked in his home in Bílovice until his death on 23 September 1961.

Pavla Cenková