Visiting the famous Villa Tugendhat from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
In the afternoon of our first day we got a chance to visit the Villa Tugendhat. Divided into two groups, we visited the villa one after the other. During the guided tour we learned about the building as well as its former owners and the architect.
Facts: Desgined by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe | For the Couple Fritz and Greta Tugendhat | Built from 1929 to 1930
Fritz and Greta Tugendhat hired the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to design their home in Brno. First he was not too eager to build a villa there. But there were three reasons that changed his mind: First there is the marvelous view over the city from the location. Secondly he was positivly surprised by the architecture of the city. And third the couple did not give him any financial nor functional limits for his design. So he got the chance to plan every little detail of the building.
On the model one can see how much he cared for open spaces and big windows for his design. In the top floor there are the bedrooms of Greta, Fritz and the children. The livingroom and workplaces are beneath as well as the kitchen and rooms for the staff. The building services are located in the basement.
He did not use many decorative objects, the materials of the doors, floors and furniture should be enough. Just like the windows, the doors extend from floor to ceiling. This deatail was very important to him. If he would not have been allowed to design the doors like this, he would not have done the building at all. It might seem strange when you think about it, but when you walk through the rooms it creates a special atmosphere. Together with the minimalist interior design, it conveys a sense of cleanliness and open space.
Whereas the rooms in the uper floor are rather small and functional, the other floor is one big room. It contains the living room, dining table, a workspace for Fritz and a place for Greta. The big windows and green furniture should make one feel like there are no boarders between house and garden.
It is even possible to have the windows descend like a lift. This turns the living room into a terrace. Apart from this the villa has another technical detail: it was possible to heat and cool the whole building via just one machine. It used hot and cool air from three different chambers.
Speaking about the technique: on this picture one can see the pillars which made it possible to have one big room. Instead of walls they hold the weight of the building. This technique was very rare for family houses at the time the villa was build.
The wood used for the frame of the dining room shown in the picture was also rare.
We finished the tour after seeing the stuff rooms and the basement and went off to the beautiful garden and further into the city of Brno.
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