Brno will send a request for European subsidies for the repair of the Tugendhat villa

Brno - This week, a request for European funds for the restoration of the Tugendhat villa will be sent from the Brno City Hall. The city has hesitated to submit this request, waiting for the preparation of the tender conditions for selecting a construction company. These must be attached to the application. Although submitting the request will slightly delay the process, according to the councilors, it is justified. "Losing 100 million crowns would certainly be very inappropriate," said the mayor's deputy Ladislav Macek (ČSSD) to journalists today. The costs of the restoration are estimated at 160 million crowns.
According to Macek, the Ministry of Culture, to which the request is directed, will be able to comment on the documents. The city will then announce a tender for the construction company no later than the beginning of September. "I will be glad if there is as much interest as possible from professional companies that can do this work well, and if no one harms during the process for personal reasons," said Macek. The deputy fears that unhappy people with the planning process of the heritage restoration of the villa might appeal. Everything could thus be delayed even more.
The restoration of the villa has been planned for years, and due to constant postponements, heritage protectors this year set deadlines for the city to complete individual sections of the building. The first deadlines will expire next year. For failing to meet the deadlines, the heritage protectors could penalize the city. According to Macek, hopefully, this will not happen.
"There is nothing to be afraid of. I think that after all that has happened around the Tugendhat villa in the last two and a half years and what was caused by the unfortunate selection procedure from the very beginning, it is now clear that the reconstruction has its direction," he stated. He believes that when the heritage protectors see a clear progress in the repairs, they will hopefully not impose sanctions. "If the roof repairs are delayed by a week, by a month, I don't think it is so significant that it would have to be resolved through an administrative process," he added.
The villa was the only Czech building of modern art inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001, and since then, there has been talk in Brno about the necessary restoration. Everything was mainly delayed due to disputes over the tender for the restoration designer, which was later canceled. Due to the delays, the descendants of the original owners also requested the return of the villa. The council rejected this.