The Tugendhat Villa: Simple, Yet Mesmerizing

The Tugendhat villa located in the Czech city of Brno, is simple, yet still mesmerizing to the eye of the guest as the intricate design gives you plenty to observe. Designed by Mies van der Rohe With such a simple design plan, the home offers a lucid plan. However, this floor-plan demonstrates plenty more than just simple geometric shapes. From the walls, to the materials, to the view, to the interaction between both living spaces, this house has a lot to offer. This exemplar of lights and shapes has made the Tugendhat house a magnificent landmark for centuries and more to come. The villa was commissioned by Fritz Tugendhat and his wife Greta and received as a wedding present. The home overlooks a valley and the beautiful city of Brno. The Tugendhat’s lived in the villa for only eight years after the family had to flee Czechoslovakia due to World War II. They moved to Switzerland and never returned, so in sequence they had the Tugendhat villa confiscated for office use by the Gestapo. During their time living in the villa however, they had an extravagant time. The open floor plan made it easy for their children to play and walk around. The windows and glass walls provided lighting and the ability to see the outside from nearly everywhere in the first floor. From the street, the home looks like it’s only one story but from the garden, you can fully view all three levels to the house. Mies van der Rohe dealt with the extreme slope by dividing the front and back of the house into public and private sides.
The first most important aspect that gives this home the reputation it has today among world architecture is its open floor plan. The whole first floor floor-plan is open with just a wooden semicircular wall, separating the dining area to the rest of the first (middle) floor and a free-standing wall separating the main seating area to the rest of the house. The interior area were the ochre onyx wall which is illuminated by an orange color by the sun setting