Heritage protectors will decide on the Tugendhat villa, most likely allowing reconstruction

Brno - Years delayed reconstruction of the functionalist Tugendhat villa in Brno will likely be approved within a few weeks. Conservationists from the South Moravian Regional Office will decide by the end of the week whether it is possible to repair the villa according to the completed designs. The implementation documentation was previously approved by officials, but they were not satisfied with the proposed static solution. The designers have therefore revised it. The new solution must now be approved by the regional office. Today, positive feedback came from experts at the National Heritage Institute, said Tomáš Drobný, head of the department of culture and heritage care at the regional office, to ČTK.
    According to Drobný, the project for the static reinforcement of the villa has changed significantly. The designers originally wanted to underpin the entire structure of the house, which the conservationists rejected. The new solution, therefore, proposes to reinforce only those base pads that are damaged.
    The load-bearing elements of the building are protected by conservationists because the static solution of the villa is exceptional. The building consists of a steel skeleton, and the ceilings of the floors are supported not by walls but only by slender pillars. Such a structure allowed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 to 1969) to clad the house in glass panels, which in some places could even be slid into the ground. Mies, who is considered the father of modern architecture of the 20th century, thus breathed life into his idea of a habitable continuous space; the surrounding environment literally entered the house through its glass walls.
    If the regional office approves the proposed static solution for the villa, a building permit for the repair can be issued. Brno can also announce a tender for the construction company that will carry out the heritage restoration.
    The restoration of the monument, which is the only Czech modern art building listed on the UNESCO list, will cost more than 100 million crowns. The city's budget has allocated about 20 million crowns for the construction this year. If this year's budget does not suffice for the work, it can be addressed later in the investment plan, according to Deputy Mayor Ladislav Mack.
    The villa has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2001. Its heritage restoration was supposed to begin a year later. However, its start has repeatedly been delayed due to disputes among the teams involved in the tender for the designer. The architects are still arguing; one of the court hearings took place less than two weeks ago. However, the dispute is unlikely to affect the planning of the repairs; the company that won the contract years ago has already processed the documentation and has been paid.
    The descendants of the original owners requested the return of the heritage site from Brno last year due to the delay in reconstruction, but the representatives declined.