The building
Locality
Modern Brno began to come about starting in the 1830s when the fortifications were gradually torn down. The city rapidly grew with new construction activity, primarily connected with the building of the local ‘Ringstrasse’, lending Brno the typical features of a city of the 19th century Vienna type. The urban development... read more
THE STRUCTURE
The free-standing three-storey Villa is situated on a sloped terrain and faces to the south-west. The first storey, the basement, contains the utility facilities. The second storey, the ground floor consists of the main living and social areas with the conservatory and the terrace as well as the kitchen with facilities... read more
The housing philosophy
CAN THE TUGENDHAT VILLA BE LIVED IN? This provocative question was voiced by the art historian Justus Bier. This was a reaction to an article on the new structure of the Brno Villa in the magazine 'Die Form' which was published in the year 1931 by the publisher himself Walter Riezler. The commissioners themselves... read more
The interiors
The inner furnishings of the house were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe along with his colleagues Lilly Reich and Sergius Ruegenberg. The furniture was primarily from tubular and strip steel as well as from noble woods (rosewood, zebra wood and Macassar ebony). Three 'Tugendhat' armchairs stood in front... read more
The materials
Apart from Mies' personality and his original conception of space, the Tugendhats were also particularly impressed by his feeling for material. “He consequently explained the importance of utilising noble materials in Modernist structures, in particular, which do not contain decorations or ornamentation, this having... read more
The garden
The plot of land was part of the property adjoining the Art Nouveau villa of Grete's parents and had the form of an English park from the 19th century. The garden of Villa Tugendhat along with the lower garden of the Löw-Beer Villa had always formed a territorial although not an architectural whole. The existing... read more
After the departure of the family
The Tugendhats left Brno in May 1938. Thanks to their contacts in Germany they were well informed about the current developments wherein remaining in Brno would have amounted to a certain sentence of death for the entire family. Grete had been involved in activities for the League for Human Rights starting in the year... read more
The 1960s
Attempts at renewal and a reasonable use for one of the most famous villa structures in the world received a more concrete form at the beginning of the 1960s. The first concrete step was in December 1963 with the registration of Villa Tugendhat on the list of architectural cultural monuments. The main force behind... read more
The restoration of the Villa from 1981 to 1985
The first final overall renovation of the Villa took place over the years 1981-1985. The project was prepared by the State Institute for Reconstruction of Historical Towns and Buildings in Brno. The designing team (Ing. arch. Jarmila Kutějová, Ing. Josef Janeček, Ing. arch. Adéla Jeřábková) was led by Ing. arch. Kamil... read more