Villa Tugendhat

Villa Tugendhat - ENG - -ENG - Detail of the "Villa Tugendhat" in Brno, Czech Republic, designed by Mies Van Der Rohe in 1929. In 1995 the villa was made a national monument and used as a museum. Alivar was chosen by the Czech Republic to furnish it with reproductions of the original furniture, thanks to the care and professionalism that it was always shown in the reproduction of masterpieces of industrial design. 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 along with the servants' rooms. The third storey, the first floor, has the main entrance from the street with a passage to the terrace, the entrance hall, the rooms for the parents, children and the nanny with appropriate facilities. The chauffeur's flat with the garages and the terrace are accessible separately. 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 entered into the polemic on the theme as to whether “the Tugendhat Villa can be lived in” with their reactions supplemented with a text by the architect Ludwig Hilberseimer. The Tugendhats rejected the view that the monumental, impassioned living space would only allow for a kind of ceremonial or showpiece housing, and in contrast expressed their complete satisfaction with its variable character. The unforced domestic calm also radiates from the family photographs by Fritz Tugendhat who was a photo enthusiast and amateur filmmaker. 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 of the onyx wall upholstered in silver-grey 'rodion' material, three 'Barcelona' armchairs and a stool in emerald green leather, a glass table and a white bench. A colour accent was provided by a reclining chair with ruby red velvet upholstering. 'Brno' chairs made from tubular steel and upholstered in white sheepskin were situated around the round dining table from black polished pear wood. Chairs were placed next to the glazed milk wall and in the library. Two 'MR 20' wicker armchairs faced one another next to the writing desk behind the onyx wall. The majority of the metal furniture was produced in Germany (Berliner Metallwerke Josef Müller and Bamberg Metallwerkstätten). The built-in furniture and part of the free-standing items were produced in the Brno firm Standard Flat Company of the architect Jan Vaňek which at the same time realized part of the interiors of the Müller Villa in Prague by Adolf Loos. Vaňek's firm apparently also installed the curved inner wall from Makassar ebony. “Mies had a round table designed for the circular dining room with one metal leg, in the exact form of the iron columns, which could also be retracted into the floor. The table top was from black pear tree wood. The reverse side had metal rails in order to enlarge the table to twice the size.”