Villa Tugendhat () is an architecturally significant building in Brno, Czech Republic. It is one of the pioneering prototypes of modern architecture in Europe, and was designed by the German architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. It was built between 1928 and 1930 for Fritz Tugendhat and his wife Greta, of the wealthy and influential Jewish Czech Tugendhat family. Of reinforced concrete, the villa soon became an icon of modernism. Famous for its revolutionary use of space and industrial building materials, the building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.

Design

The free-standing three-story villa is on a slope and faces the south-west. The second story (the ground floor) consists of the main living and social areas with the conservatory, the terrace, the kitchen and servants' rooms. The third story (the first floor) has the main entrance from the street with a passage to the terrace, the entrance hall, and rooms for the parents, children and the nanny with appropriate facilities. The chauffeur's flat with the garages and the terrace are accessed separately.

Mies' design principle of "less is more" and emphasis on functional amenities created a fine example of early functionalist architecture, a groundbreaking new vision in building design at the time. Mies used a revolutionary iron framework, which enabled him to dispense with supporting walls and arrange the interior in order to achieve a feeling of space and light. Accordingly, the main living area features a curtain wall divided into multiple large windows, framing a panoramic view of Špilberk Castle; remarkably, two of these windows can be completely lowered into the floor, much like in an automobile. Mies specified all the furnishings, in collaboration with interior designer Lilly Reich (two armchairs designed for the building, the Tugendhat chair and the Brno chair, are still in production). There were no paintings or decorative items in the villa, but the interior was by no means austere due to the use of naturally patterned materials such as the onyx wall and rare tropical woods. The onyx wall is partially translucent and changes appearance when the evening sun is low. The architect managed to make the magnificent view from the villa an integral part of the interior.

The cost was very high due to the unusual construction method, luxurious materials, and the use of modern technology for heating and ventilation. The lower-ground level was used as a service area. An ultra-modern air-conditioning system was installed and a glass façade that opens completely assisted by a mechanism built into the wall.

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File:Vila Tugendhat exterior Dvorak3.JPG|Front view

File:Brno, Černá Pole, Černopolní, vila Tugendhat (03).jpg|View from the street after reconstruction in 2012

File:Brno, Černá Pole, Černopolní, vila Tugendhat (01).jpg|View of the left side from the street 2012

File:Vila Tugendhat (Brno), onyxová stěna.JPG|The onyx wall in the living room

File:Vila Tugendhat interior Dvorak.jpg|Vila Tugendhat interior with a view of Špilberk Castle

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History

The villa was commissioned by the German Jewish Fritz and Greta Tugendhat. However, all property of the Tugendhats remained seized. The villa became property of the city and the factory became part of the Mosilana National Enterprise.

In the post-war years, the building was partially repaired and used for various purposes (for example, as a children's physiotherapy centre) for several decades after World War II. It was inscribed on the National List of Cultural Heritage in 1969 and restored after 1980. On 26 August 1992, Václav Klaus and Vladimír Mečiar, the political leaders of Czechoslovakia, met there to sign the document that divided the country into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. Since 1994 the villa has been open to the public as a museum administered by the city of Brno.

In 1993 the Villa Tugendhat Fund and Friends of Tugendhat were formed to preserve the villa. In 1995 Brno received a $15,000 grant to pay for preliminary research from the Samuel H. Kress European Preservation Program, part of the World Monuments Fund. The International Music and Art Foundation, based in Liechtenstein, pledged $100,000, because a trustee, Nicholas Thaw, was also a trustee of the World Monuments Fund. The Robert Wilson Foundation matched the $100,000. The reason for this application appears to have been their frustration over the failure of the municipality of Brno to carry out vital restoration work due to the deterioration of the concrete used in construction. This reconstruction finished in February 2012 and the villa was reopened to the public in March. To celebrate the villa's restoration, the Royal Institute of British Architects launched 'Villa Tugendhat in Context', an exhibition in London giving a visual history and a record of the recent renovation through the testimony of three generations of photographers.

The villa was a principal location in the 2007 film Hannibal Rising, serving as the villa of the villain, Vladis Gutas. Simon Mawer's 2009 Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, The Glass Room, is a fictional account of a house inspired by the villa. A film based in part on the novel, The Affair, was shot at the villa and released in 2019.

See also

  • Villa Wolf (Gubin)
  • Haus Lange and Haus Esters in Krefeld

References

Further reading

  • Dieter Reifarth, Haus Tugendhat, 116 minutes, 2013.