Built and designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 1928–1930, the Tugendhat House in Brno / Czech Republic is one of the most significant buildings of European modernism. In 2001, UNESCO added the house to the List of World Cultural Heritage Sites. In this third, updated edition, the authors give personal and historic insights relating to the house; also documenting aspects pertaining to art history and conservation-science studies. The comprehensive description and in-depth discussion of the materials used is a special feature in this field of research. The appeal of this monograph lies in the publication of photographs from the family archive which, for the first time, show the house in its lived-in condition. The experimental artistic color photographs by Fritz Tugendhat are among the pioneering achievements of amateur photography.
The Tugendhat House in Brno, the Czech Republic, was planned and built by Mies van der Rohe from 1928 to 1930, and is universally regarded not only as one of his masterpieces, but also as one of the most important buildings of European Modern architecture. This monograph on the Tugendhat House presents previously unpublished photographs belonging to the Tugendhat family, showing the house as it was when it was first inhabited. A representative collection of plans and drawings from Mies van der Rohe's atelier are also presented here for the first time. Carefully reproduced photographs of the original furniture in the family's possession, many of which have never been shown, are also included. Essays by Wolf Tegethoff, Franz Schulze, and Ivo Hammer give a detailed analysis of the significance of the Tugendhat House in the context of Mies's oeuvre.
Honeymooners Viktor and Liesel Landauer are filled with the optimism and cultural vibrancy of central Europe of the 1920s when they meet modernist architect Rainer von Abt. He builds for them a home to embody their exuberant faith in the future, and the Landauer House becomes an instant masterpiece. Viktor and Liesel, a rich Jewish mogul married to a thoughtful, modern gentile, pour all of their hopes for their marriage and budding family into their stunning new home, filling it with children, friends, and a generation of artists and thinkers eager to abandon old-world European style in favor of the new and the avant-garde. But as life intervenes, their new home also brings out their most passionate desires and darkest secrets. As Viktor searches for a warmer, less challenging comfort in the arms of another woman, and Liesel turns to her wild, mischievous friend Hana for excitement, the marriage begins to show signs of strain. The radiant honesty and idealism of 1930 quickly evaporate beneath the storm clouds of World War II. As Nazi troops enter the country, the family must leave their old life behind and attempt to escape to America before Viktor's Jewish roots draw Nazi attention, and before the family itself dissolves. As the Landauers struggle for survival abroad, their home slips from hand to hand, from Czech to Nazi to Soviet possession and finally back to the Czechoslovak state, with new inhabitants always falling under the fervent and unrelenting influence of the Glass Room. Its crystalline perfection exerts a gravitational pull on those who know it, inspiring them, freeing them, calling them back, until the Landauers themselves are finally drawn home to where their story began. Brimming with barely contained passion and cruelty, the precision of science, the wild variance of lust, the catharsis of confession, and the fear of failure - the Glass Room contains it all.
The Tugendhat House in Brno (Czech Republic) was named by UNESCO in 2001 as one of the most important buildings of modern architecture and as a World Heritage Site. Mies van der Rohe designed and built it in 1928-1930 and it is beyond any doubt one of the pinnacles in his career. Based on the monograph of 1998 (in English: 2000) the authors describe the complex aspects of this house: personal, historical, art historical, architecture theoretical and restoration scientific ones. Most recent additions include personal reminiscences, photography experiments by Fritz Tugendhat and previously unpublished footage from the family mansion, the house's history after 1997, the conservation of scientifically important materiality of the house and comments on the methodology and techniques of restoration in 2010-2012.
"The thirty years modernist legend Mies van der Rohe spent working in America arguably reflect his most consistent and mature efforts toward achieving his goal: a new architecture for the twentieth century. Focusing on this American period, Conversations with Mies van der Rohe gives new credence to this claim by presenting the architect's most important design concerns in his own words. In this collection of interviews Mies talks freely about his relationship with clients, the common language he sought in his architectural projects, the influences on his work, and the synthesis of architecture and technology that he advanced in his designs and built works. An essay by Inaki Abalos provides a context for these interviews and looks at Mies's legacy from a contemporary perspective."--
The worldwide use of building envelopes in steel and glass is one of the characteristic features of modern architecture. Many of these pre- and post-war buildings are now suffering severe defects in the building fabric, which necessitate measures to preserve the buildings. In this endeavor, aspects of architectural design, building physics, and the preservation of historic buildings play a key role. Using a selection of 20 iconic buildings in Europe and the USA, the book documents the current technological status of the three most common strategies used today: restoration, rehabilitation, and replacement. The buildings include Fallingwater House by Frank Lloyd Wright, Farnsworth House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Fagus Factory and Bauhaus Building by Walter Gropius.
Concrete: We use it for our buildings, bridges, dams, and roads. We walk on it, drive on it, and many of us live and work within its walls. But very few of us know what it is. We take for granted this ubiquitous substance, which both literally and figuratively comprises much of modern civilization's constructed environment; yet the story of its creation and development features a cast of fascinating characters and remarkable historical episodes. Featuring a new epilogue on the Surfside condominium collapse and the current state of infrastructure in America, this book delves into this history, opening readers' eyes at every turn. In a lively narrative peppered with intriguing details, author Robert Courland describes how some of the most famous personalities of history became involved in the development and use of concrete-including King Herod the Great of Judea, the Roman emperor Hadrian, Thomas Edison (who once owned the largest concrete cement plant in the world), and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Courland points to recent archaeological evidence suggesting that the discovery of concrete directly led to the Neolithic Revolution and the rise of the earliest civilizations. Much later, the Romans reached extraordinarily high standards for concrete production, showcasing their achievement in iconic buildings like the Coliseum and the Pantheon. Amazingly, with the fall of the Roman Empire, the secrets of concrete manufacturing were lost for over a millennium. The author explains that when concrete was rediscovered in the late eighteenth century it was initially viewed as an interesting novelty or, at best, a specialized building material suitable only for a narrow range of applications. It was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that the use of concrete exploded. During this rapid expansion, industry lobbyists tried to disguise the fact that modern concrete had certain defects and critical shortcomings. It is now recognized that modern concrete, unlike its Roman predecessor, gradually disintegrates with age. Compounding this problem is another distressing fact: the manufacture of concrete cement is a major contributor to global warming. Concrete Planet is filled with incredible stories, fascinating characters, surprising facts, and an array of intriguing insights into the building material that forms the basis of the infrastructure on which we depend.
This detailed and carefully reasoned study of the domestic architecture of Mies van der Rohe is a landmark contribution to contemporary understanding of the great architect's work. It is devoted to a close analysis of Mies' residential architecture, built and unbuilt, from 1923 to 1951. Many of its conclusions are pertinent to the whole of Mies' output. The book presents penetrating discussions of both the Concrete and the Brick Country House projects, two of the famous Five Projects of the 1920s which made Mies' early reputation; and, among others, the Lange and Esters Houses of 1927-1930; the Barcelona Pavilion and Tugendhat House of 1928-1930; and, in America, plans for a house in Wyoming for the Stanley Resors, and the Farnsworth House of 1946-1951. The analysis and the illustrations demonstrate a continuous development toward realization of the goal Mies himself described: &"To bring Nature, houses and people into a higher unity.&" The original German language edition accompanied an exhibition organized by the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, in conjunction with the Mies van der Rohe Archive of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, on the occasion of the public opening of the restored Lange and Esters Houses, now owned by the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum. All of the works exhibited are reproduced in this volume. Dr. Tegethoff's text, based on extensive research in the Mies Archive and other sources, brings to light much new information on the origins of Mies's ideas, his working methods and relationships with clients, as well as the actual planning and structure of the houses. Wolf Tegethoff is a member of the faculty of the Kunsthistorische Institut of the University of Kiel, Germany.
Mies at Home is a radical rereading of one of the most significant periods in Mies van der Rohe’s career, from the mid- to late 1920s when he was developing his seminal spatial ideas— ideas that would culminate in his celebrated design of the Tugendhat House. The book examines how Mies’s experience of residing in his apartment, doubling as a studio, in central Berlin had an impact on his spatial concepts. It uncovers one of the most profound but virtually untold aspects of Mies’s development: how his visions of an ideal lifestyle came out of his own living experience and how they, in turn, informed his domestic architecture. Mies’s quest featured two breakthroughs. In the Weissenhof apartment building, he conveyed a flexible and manifold lifestyle that many of the avant-garde artists, including himself, were practicing. Later, in the Tugendhat House, he put forward an alternative way of living that centered on contemplation. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Mies at Home offers a fresh investigation of the diverse intentions and strategies the architect used in creating his iconic open spaces. It will be an insightful read for researchers, academics, and students in architectural history and theory.
Expanded version of book published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1947. Includes plans, photographs of structures now demolished, chronology, and some writings by Mies van der Rohe.
