Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic, is the topic of a lecture late this afternoon at the Herald-Tribune building's Community Room, 1741 Main St., Sarasota.
As part of the Sarasota Architectural Foundation's 2013 lecture series, "The Restoration of Mies van der Rohe's Villa Tugendhat" will be presented by Peter Lizon, FAIA. Lizon worked on the restoration project that concluded in 2012.
The event is from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by a reception that concludes at 8.
Admission is $10 for SAF members, $15 for non-members and $5 students with ID.
Lizon will discuss the history of the house, which was built in 1930 for a wealthy couple. At the time, important modernist architects, including Le Corbusier with the Villa Savoie in suburban Paris, were exploring the residential space with prototypical houses that made use of large windows, open floor plans and little or no detailing.
The Tugendhats, who were Jewish, fled to Switzerland in 1938 to escape the Holocaust and never again occupied the house. The Nazi Gestapo took it over in 1939, and after World War II the villa was occupied by the Soviet military. Several restoration efforts ensued after 1967. The most recent effort concluded a year ago and cost about $8 million.
The Tugendhat House, which inspired the novel "The Glass Room," is now a museum. The Tugendhats' grandson, Andy, now lives in Sarasota.
