mies van der rohe's villa tugendhat

On our drive between Prague and Vienna, we detoured into Brno to gawk at Mies van der Rohe's Villa Tugenhadt. Unfortunately (and something of a minor tragedy), the Villa was closed for tours since we were rolling through town on a Monday. But we were able to see it from the street and from a public-private space from the rear. A virtual tour of the Villa (including in VR!) is available here.

This is one of Mies' key buildings, designed and built between 1928 and 1930, and one that included the work of Lilly Reich. The three-story home is hung from the hill-top where it has a low, linear profile. It has floor to ceiling glass, curving glass, and is beautifully minimal. It also has central air conditioning, a rarity at the time. The large windows in the living area could be fully retracted into the floor with electric motors.