Mies in Brno, Beyond the Glass Room: Restoring Villa Tugendhat

Since 2002, architect Iveta Černá has been the Executive Director of Villa Tugendhat and under her oversight, led the Villa’s acclaimed restoration effort. She will present on the history of Villa Tugendhat, highlighting its architectural and design significance, sustainability, and accessibility for tourism and study.

Mies van der Rohe was commissioned by newlyweds Greta and Fritz Tugendhat to design their new villa in Brno. Both were from wealthy Czechoslovakian textile industry families, and they wanted their new home to incorporate Modern aesthetic innovations and cutting-edge design of the highest level, providing Mies with the funds to do so. What he completed in 1931 stands as a masterpiece of early 20th–century Modernism, exemplifying an innovative approach to construction, spatial layout, and interior design. Its rich history is as captivating as its cultural importance.

The Villa is constructed with a load-bearing steel frame, a first for a private residence, allowing for free-flowing space and the installation of large-format windows that lower into the basement to fully open the living space to the garden. The sophisticated technology included an air filtration system that combined heating, cooling, humidification, and a cedar wood scent.

Throughout the house, luxurious materials are used such as Italian travertine, glowing honey-colored onyx from Morocco's Atlas Mountains, and various rare woods like palisander, zebrawood, and Makassar ebony from Southeast Asia. The interior and furniture created by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, included what are now considered icons of Modern design–the Tugendhat, Barcelona, and Brno chairs.

Confiscated by the Nazis in 1939, the villa suffered extensively through the war years and during the subsequent Soviet occupation. Some restoration work took place in earlier years, but it wasn’t until 2010 that a painstaking restoration program began to bring every single element of Mies’ original design for the structure and landscape back to its 1930 appearance. This restoration, led by today’s presenter, involved collaboration with multiple international experts and led to the Villa's spectacular reopening to the public in 2012. 

Villa Tugendhat was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 and gained further protection in 2019 under the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property. 

https://www.tugendhat.eu/en/

$18

Things To KnowAges 13 and older
This is an indoor activity
Wheelchair accessible
Parking and handicap parking available
Seated activity
No smoking or e-cigarettes

Important InformationThe entrance to the Annenberg Theater is located behind the Annenberg Theater Box Office, adjacent to the Palm Springs Art Museum's North Parking Lot.
Ample free public parking is available in the multi-level public garage across from the Palm Springs Art Museum.
The organizer of this event is Modernism Week Annenberg Theater Activity.

Check-in Location Palm Springs Art Museum
101 N Museum Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262View Map

Photo Credits: David Zidlicky, Villa Tugendhat {"locationAddressVisibility":"visible"}