Located on a hill overlooking the city of Brno, Tugendhat Villa is a seminal work of International Style architecture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (...)
Located on a hill overlooking the city of Brno, Tugendhat Villa is a seminal work of International Style architecture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Based upon innovative spatial concepts first introduced by Mies van der Rohe at the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition, the villa has an open floor plan and operable floor-to-ceiling steel and glass windows that visually and physically dissolve the barrier between interior and exterior living spaces. The structure combined new industrial technologies, such as steel and reinforced concrete, with chrome, travertine, and onyx. Furnishings like the famous Tugendhat chair were designed by the architect specifically for the villa.
After the Tugendhat family fled Europe during World War II, the house served numerous functions and underwent a number of changes to accommodate new occupants until becoming property of the city of Brno in 1969. The villa suffered from years of deferred maintenance, during which time the main terrace became structurally unstable and the gardens were altered into grounds that could be more easily maintained.
