VILLA TUGENDHAT
LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE
BY
STANLEY WONG KHUNG YOU (0317236)
PUA KEE HUI
(0316672)
KHOR XIN SUAN
(0316230)
JOASH LIM YUN-AN
(0317197)
KONG REN HENG
(0316416)
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
BY
STANLEY WONG KHUNG YOU
Villa Tugendhat was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and was built in the
year 1930. It is one of the pioneering prototypes of modern architecture in Europe
which followed Mies ‘less is more’ philosophy.
Villa Tugendhat is designed by using grid organization. Its main space which is
the living room is punctuated by a grid of structural-steel columns, making the floor plan
square and equally spaced. Villa Tugendhat uses a grid of two foot intervals which can
be clearly seen in the tiling pattern of its forecourt entry.
On the upper floor, the private areas show the simplicity and linear use of the
grid. Every sleeping area has been gathered into continuous blocks without any
projecting edges, allowing pure continuous lines of the modernist aesthetic. It
differentiates the public and private spaces, thus creating a stabilized family life.
On the lower floor, the organization becomes a lot more open. This openness
can be referred as a free plan. Each space on the lower floor utterly fits systematically
within a linear side-by-side construct identical to that of the upper level.
The circulation in Villa Tugendhat is free and directed even though this would
not be possible without the pure steel framework structure which allow the removal of
the heavy load bearing walls, it is reinforced by the free plan. This plan allows people to
move through the grid without being pushed to other direction, creating a random
movement pattern.
The entrance of Villa Tugendhat is formed by superficial geometry. It is like a
large horizontal plane supported by a single post which forms the roof and also a series
of framed vertical windows. These features form the entry of Villa Tugendhat. The
geometry used is simply clean and basic.
In conclusion, Villa Tugendhat clearly reflects Mies’ philosophy, ‘less is more’ as
the simple openness of its plan creates a sense of flow and freedom that liberates its
resident.
Reference:
1) ‘THE BUILDING’
HTTP://WWW.TUGENDHAT.EU/EN/VILLA-TUGENDHAT/THE-BUILDING.HTML
2) ‘Tugendhat Villa in Brno’
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1052
3) ‘Czech Republic Land of Stories’
http://www.czechtourism.com/c/brno-unesco-tugendhat-villa/
4) Rowan Moore, ‘Villa Tugendhat, Brno, Czech Republic – review’
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/06/villa-tugendhat-miesbrno-moore
5) ‘Tugendhat House’
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Tugendhat_House.html
6) Cnachreiner, ‘Geometry as a system of spatial order in modernist architecture’
21 January 2012
http://insitudesignsense.blogspot.com/2012/01/geometry-as-system-of-spatialorder-in.html
7) Dietrich Neumann, ‘Can one live in the Tugendhat House?’
http://www.cloud-cuckoo.net/journal1996
2013/inhalt/en/issue/issues/112/Articles/3.2%20%20%20Neumann.pdf
STRUCTURE, MATERIALS
AND
CONSTRUCTION
BY
PUA KEE HUI
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect of Villa Tugendhat, was born on March 27
1886 in Aachen, the son of Jakob Mies (a dealer in marble) and Amalia Rohe. He was a
well-known architect with the dictum “Less Is More” which depicts on the building that
he designed e.g. Barcelona Pavilion and Farnsworth House. Villa Tugendhat was
commissioned by Fritz Tugendhat, a Jewish factory owner and completed within 14
months in Brno, Czech Republic. It was one of the masterpiece produce by Mies van der
Rohe that represents modern architecture (Modernism) which recorded on the UNESCO
List of World Cultural Heritage.
The structure of the villa is revolutionary with steel frame construction which
consists of 29 steel columns punctuated through the building supporting the structure
without any load-bearing walls with the combinations of steel beams and steel girders,
joined together at their intersections. Cruciform supporting columns of a cross-section
with riveted angles are made from German steel. The columns on the terraces have
brass cladding with patina coating to a bronze in copper color while the columns in the
main living area have brass chromium plating with a bright luster. The uniqueness of the
design enabled unlimited ways of handling the interiors as well as the generous glazing
of the façade.
With the vanishing columns, the full-size sliding windows which runs the full 24
meter of the space from top to bottom transform the living area into a theatre box in
the sky, enhancing the feeling of “floating world”. The individual functional zones in the
living room are articulated by free standing wall of honey-colored onyx with white veins
and half-circular wall of Macassar ebony wood. The Onyx wall separates the living area
and the library area while the dining area is partially enclosed by the curved wall. The
open expanse and light transparency of that space shown in different functional zones
seemed to meet the demands for a “liberated form of living” that were prevalent at that
time.
The villa was composed of three levels (including the basement), with different
floor plans and forms, each relating differently to the sloping site. The Southeast and
garden facades were completely glazing from floor to ceiling while the third floor is
connected to the street level. The house was not orientated to the street but to the
garden. The street face is relatively modest, whereas the garden aspect, with its
continuous glass front, conveys an impression of spacious, privileged lifestyle.
The interior’s marked aesthetic quality, combined with the idealized dialogue
with the landscape, inspired a contemporary critic to remark that Mies here showed
how to elevate oneself above purely rational and functional thinking. In addition, his
concept “Less is More” is fully expressed throughout the whole building with the lack of
lavish ornaments and colored paintings. Natural stones and wood as well as simple
white coloured finishes is applied to confess the essential elements of our lives.
Reference:
1) "THE STRUCTURE, VILLA TUGENDHAT." . N.p.. Web. 7 Apr 2014.
<http://www.tugendhat.eu/en/the-building/the-structure.html>.
2) "THE MATERIALS, VILLA TUGENDHAT." . N.p.. Web. 7 Apr 2014.
<http://www.tugendhat.eu/en/the-building/the-materials.html>.
3) Julus, Gianakos. "AD Classics: Villa Tugendhat / Mies van der Rohe." . ArchDaily,
09 Sep 2011. Web. 7 Apr 2014. <http://networkedblogs.com/mP9no>.
4) Rowan, Moore. "Villa Tugendhat, Brno, Czech Republic – review." . theguardian,
06 Apr 2012. Web. 7 Apr 2014.
<http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/06/villa-tugendhat-miesbrno-moore>.
5) RUDY, GODINEZ. "Mies van der Rohe, Villa Tugendhat, (1930)." tumblr, n. d. Web.
7 Apr. 2014. <http://rudygodinez.tumblr.com/post/67886863467/mies-van-derrohe-villa-tugendhat-1930>.
6) "Mies van der Rohe - biographical outline." . mies barcelona. Web. 7 Apr 2014.
<http://www.miesbcn.com/en/biographical.html>.
7) Lilly, Reich. "Villa Tugendhat." Brno, Czech Republic by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Architects, Architecture, Architectuul. Web. 7 Apr 2014.
<http://architectuul.com/architecture/villa-tugendhat>.
COMPONENTS
BY
KHOR XIN SUAN
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is the architect of Villa Tugendhat which is built at the
request of Grete and Fritz in Brno. He is well known of his dictum “God is in the details”.
He emphasises the significant of details and one should focus on the details in every
aspect.
In Villa Tugendhat, Mies does not use walls as dividers in fact he uses them as
partitions. Walls are used to separate a space without using doors or similarly framed
openings. This allowed the spaces to flow together, yet still be unique and individual
spaces. A curved wall of opaque etched glass hides the front door from the street but
also encourage movement towards it. On the external side of the glass is glossy, while
on the internal side it is a matte surface. The curved wall houses the main staircase that
leads to the living room.
Moroccan onyx partition wall used to separate the main living space. There are
five full-height slabs placed next to one another for the impressive veining of the
material. Two of the panels are matched to give the wall a slight asymmetry, or offcentre balance. The curved Makassar ebony wood screen located beside the onyx
partition wall perfectly cupped the dining room table. It also allows the diners to focus
their attention toward the view beyond the expanse of glass.
Large windows surrounded the space provide a clear view of the garden below.
Few of them are retractable window that can be lowered into basement to allow direct
connection with the garden and create indoor outdoor effect.
There are two types of steel column used in Villa Tugendhat, reminiscent of the
Barcelona Pavilion. First is the cruciform undulating brass column cover that placed at
the exterior give the effect of dematerialization. Next, the cruciform chromium-plate
cased columns are held back into the building from the fifteen foot large glass wall
giving view to the gardens. The exquisite and highly complex detail makes the column
appear smaller and slimmer than the other geometry shapes while providing interesting
shadow lines. They punctuated the space at regular intervals following the grid system.
Mies van der Rohe also hides the connection between floor and column to increase the
aesthetic value.
The door handle designed by Mies is nice both for its simple shape and the way
the plate is set into the glass door. Circles occur in the plate, the handle and the keyhole,
providing a consistent design feature. He inserted a full height doors in parents’ room
which initially rejected by Grete and Fritz.
Mies van der Rohe does not include excessive decoration in his designs; in fact
he brings in the nature of the material for instance onyx and Makkasar ebony wood that
have impressive and unique vein details to be the show pieces of the building. He
designed every element of the house from the tiles to the ceiling, including the furniture
makes them in coherence.
Reference:
1) “Tugendhat House”, Nov 6 2012
http://atfpa3y4.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/casa-tugendhat/
2) “The Villa Tugendhat” http://www.private-prague-guide.com/article/the-villatugendhat-an-architectural-gem-in-brno/
3) “Must know modern homes”
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/17302468/list/Must-Know-Modern-Homes-Mies-van-der-Rohe-s-Villa-Tugendhat
4) Neil Fraser, “Structure Tectonics Atectonics”
http://www.academia.edu/5959767/B_A_H_O_N_S
5) “The material”, Villa Tugendhat http://www.tugendhat.eu/en/thebuilding/thematerials.html
6) Kyrill Convenant, “le courier de l’ architecte”, March 18 2012
http://www.lecourrierdelarchitecte.com/article_3029
7) Dietrich Neumann, “Can one live in Tugendhat House?” , 2012
http://www.cloud-cuckoo.net/journal19962013/inhalt/en/issue/issues/112/Articles/3.2%20%20%20Neumann.pdf
8) “Iconic Houses.org” , 2012 http://www.iconichouses.org/specials/villatugendhat/villa-tugendhat
MASSING/ FORM
BY
JOASH LIM YUN-AN
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, was a German-American architect, he is widely
regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture. He created an
influential twentieth-century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and
simplicity as follows his famous dictum of “Less Is More”. He strove toward architecture
with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of
free-flowing open space such as Barcelona Pavilion, Villa Tugendhat and Farnsworth
House. He uses boxy, steel and glass architecture on most of his projects.
Villa Tugendhat takes a basic form of a rectangular shape. Its form develops from
additive and subtractive transformation causing a simple basic shape of rectangle to
become a complex shape.
The front elevation of the Villa Tugendhat which is facing towards the street acts
like a backbone of the structure therefore the front elevation is relatively heavier and
stronger compared to the back elevation which is facing the garden. It is also seen that
there are more windows located at the back elevation showing the mass is lighter than
the front elevation which has a greater span of wall and lesser windows.
The front elevation has to be heavier to support the weight of the building as Villa
Tugendhat is seated on a slope. So the structure needs to have a heavier mass on the
higher side of the slope which is the front elevation which acts as a backbone of the
structure. If the back elevation has a heavier mass it will cause the whole structure to
collapse due to the angle of the slope.
Conclusion, since he’s concept of boxy, steel and glass architecture which is
considered to be as lightweight architecture, it allows Villa Tugendhat to be seated on
the slope due to the light weight glass located at the back elevation.
Reference:
1) "Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe. N.p.,
7 Apr 2014. Web. 8 Apr 2014.
THE EXTERNAL FACADE
BY
KONG REN HENG
Villa Tugendhat, one of the most important buildings in the modern era of
architecture, was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the Tugendhat family.
Ludwig’s most famous dictums “Less is more” and “God is in the details” were fully
translated into the villa and also other significant building such as the Barcelona Pavilion.
His idea of modernity and bold designs in architecture have made him one of the most
prominent architects in the modern era.
Ludwig’s philosophy of “Less is more”, that no unnecessary ornamentations
should be added on a building, is fully expressed in The Villa Tugendhat. It is styled with
interesting façade which was stripped of all ornamentations, yet it does not appears to
be bare or unfinished with its plain surface and boxy design. The building fully embodied
Ludwig’s idea of modernity with its extreme simplicity and clarity that became a new
style and new way to represent the modern architecture era and broke away from
everything from the past, such as the contradiction between this villa and the cathedrals
in Gothic era, or the Renaissance buildings, both with facades heavily decorated with
statues, paintings and so on.
Glass windows and plain-white concrete are two most prominent elements
which formed the façade of the villa. They contributes to the simplicity in design of the
villa with no extra furnishings. Moreover, instead of being hidden and masked with
decorations, these materials appear in their most natural form express a sense of
honesty.
The garden of the villa was also designed by Ludwig himself. The location of the
villa is carefully chosen and deliberately arranged so that it would sit on a large grassed
space and would be isolated with green vegetation. The villa engages itself with the site
context and creates an “optical disappearance”, as if it was hidden in or blended with
the surrounding green environment.
In conclusion, Ludwig expressed his modernistic ideas and designs fully in the
Villa Tugendhat’s façade and its relation to the site context.
References:
1. Iconichouse.org. “House dissolved in green.”
http://www.iconichouses.org/specials/villa-tugendhat/villa-tugendhat
(Retrieved 8th April 2014).
2. Villa Tugendhat. “The garden.” http://www.tugendhat.eu/en/villatugendhat/the-building.html (Retrieved 8th April 2014).
3. Blaser, Werner. Mies van der Rohe, Sixth edition. Basel; Boston; Berlin:
Birkhäuser, 1997. (Retrieved 8th April 2014).