People in Brno will visit the renovated Stiassny villa on November 15

Brno - The main work on the restoration of the government Stiassny villa, which is one of the significant functionalist monuments in Brno, is complete. It has reinforced statics and a restored larger part of the interiors. Experts are now restoring the last pieces of furniture, and in the summer, gardeners will take care of the surroundings of the villa. The building will be accessible to the public after the renovation for 180 million crowns on November 15. Petr Kroupa from the heritage institute said this today.
    The most challenging part was ensuring the building's stability. It turned out that the concrete pillars on which the building stands are made of low-quality material. There were cracks in the walls of the building. Problems arose during open house events, when hundreds of people passed through the villa. "The problems have been resolved. The (building) has been secured with steel cables and also very thin and exceptionally strong carbon fibers that are used in the production of devices sent into space," Kroupa stated.
    The building was commissioned in 1927 by textile industrialist Alfred Stiassny according to a design by architect Arnošt Wiesner. During socialism, it was used by the government. When visiting Czechoslovakia, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro stayed there overnight. It is only now that heritage experts have discovered what the interiors of the building looked like before.
    During communism, the walls were painted white or gray. This was also applied to part of the built-in furniture. The original floors were once covered with low-quality linoleum by the building management.
    "The biggest surprise was that we found the original coatings beneath the layers, which showed that the interiors were designed in a pleasant yellow or ochre color," Kroupa mentioned. Craftsmen are now finishing the restoration of the side staircase made of smooth concrete, whose steps were widened years ago and again covered with linoleum.
    Heritage experts want to open the building to the public only after all the work is completed. Starting in July, the 20th-century monument restoration center will be based there. Experts who specialize in restoring buildings, especially from the early 20th century, will be available for advice.
    The Stiassny villa is not as famous as the Tugendhat villa in Brno, which is listed as a UNESCO heritage site, yet according to experts, it is unique due to its architecture. Its creator used the most modern elements of his time, while integrating the villa into greenery. The visitor has the feeling that they are not in the midst of Brno, but in nature.