Villa Tugendhat

Villa Tugendhat, 1930, Czechoslovakia

Architect : Mies van der Rohe

It is considered as one of the most important residential buildings of the 20th century .UNESCO world Heritage Site

The Villa Tugendhat was commissioned by the wealthy newlyweds Grete & Fritz Tugendhat, a Jewish couple with family money from textile manufacturing companies in Brno.

The steel and glass home feature an open plan, simple forms and large walls of glass that directly connected the interior with the gardens outside. It is a three-story, stand-alone, reinforced concrete hilltop home with a conservatory, servants’ quarters, and an onyx-walled living room, the Villa still has a futuristic feel almost a century after its construction.

Mies worked with interior designer Lily Reich and specified all of the furnishings with lavish materials of various woods, stones, velvets, silks and leathers

The Tugendhat family left Czechoslovakia in 1938, prior to the Munich Agreement. The Villa was confiscated by the Gestapio and became property of the German Rich (1942). The villa was nearly destroyed as the windows were blown out and the furniture was either stolen or used as firewood. In the intervening years, the Villa has had a range of uses, from Soviet horse stable to a dance academy.

In 2012 the historical masterpiece reopened to the public after being precisely restored and preserved.

Image atlas obscura com