Materials
One of the basic features of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's projects is the frequent use of rare and exotic materials. The Villa Tugendhat is no exception in this.
Onyx detail (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Onyx wall
Probably the most famous element of villa is the onyx partition in the main living area. This dominant element of the interior comes from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and has been preserved in its original design. It is popular with visitors because of how it changes colour.
"Being the son of a stonemason, Mies was familiar with precious stone and had a particular predilection for it. Later, on his orders, a particularly beautiful block of onyx for the onyx wall in our house was sourced in the Atlas Mountains, it taking a long time until the right piece was found. Mies himself supervised the slab’s precise cutting and assembling in order to bring the most out of the stone’s veining."
Grete Tugendhat, 1969
Onyx detail (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Change of colour
Due to the fact that onyx is a semi-transparent material, it can be seen in the main living area of the villa especially in the winter months when the sun is lower above the horizon, as it illuminates the partition which thus changes its colour.
Onyx wall (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Onyx, column, makassar (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
In this photo you can see the main materials used in the main living space: the onyx partition, a dining room wall clad in Makassar ebony, a supporting column with chrome cladding and a glass pane window.
"We initially saw the floor plan for one huge room with one circular and one free standing wall. We consequently noticed small crosses at approximately five metres distance from one another. We asked, ‘What are these?’ Mies answered calmly, ‘Those are iron supports which hold up the entire structure.’ At that there had never been a private house built with an iron construction so you can imagine our initial surprise. Despite this fact, we deeply liked the plan.”
Grete Tugendhat 1969
Column without cover (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Supporting structure
Villa Tugendhat, as one of the first private houses in the world uses steel supporting in the form of cross-shaped columns. Every column consists of four steel L-profiles, which are riveted and in the majority of the rooms covered by a claying.
Column and Ebony (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Steel column (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Original tiles from 30s in the moth chamber of the villa.
Travertine (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Travertine
This material, provenient from Italy, was employed in the interiors on, for example, the floors of the entrance hall and the staircases, and in the exteriors on the parapet and the bases of the upper terrace and the garden terrace with the stairs.
The travertine on the garden terrace was installed during the 2010–2012 restoration and was imported for the project from the town of Tivoli, near Rome in central Italy.
Brno chair (1930/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Exotic woods
The exclusive exotic woods used came from Southeast Asia, specifically rosewood, zebrano or Makassar ebony. The latter owes its name to the province on the island of Celebes in Indonesia.
Glass
One of the highlights of the 2010-2012 restoration was the installation of glass panes that match the architect's original design. Unfortunately, only fragments of the original glass, made in Chudeřice near Teplice, have survived. The replicas were made in Belgium.
Villa Tugendhat garden: Autumn (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
DLW linoleum
White DLW linoleum (Deutsche Linoleum-Werke) was laid on the floors in the main living area and in the bedrooms. Even this material, which was very difficult to maintain according to Greta, was returned to the villa as part of the restoration in 2010-2012.
Plasterwork
The plasterwork on Villa Tugendhat represents one of the most authentic surviving elements of the building. During the restoration surveys, it was found that approximately 80 percent of the external plaster walls and ceilings have been preserved in their original 1930 condition.
Barcelona chair detail (1929/1929)Villa Tugendhat
Detail of the Barcelona chair
Kitchen detail (1929/1930)Villa Tugendhat
Tiles and fittings
The restoration of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware, which were restored to the way they were in 1930, was also part of the restoration in 2010-2012. During the process, the original tiles that were preserved in the villa were also discovered.
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