On 7 to 20 April 2015, a regular technical maintenance overhaul will take place in the Villa Tugendhat. The house will be closed to the public on these days.
The Villa Tugendhat is one of the most significant monuments of 20th century architecture, it is not the most important monument of this period in this country and as such it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. It is a long-term priority to maintain the good condition of monument and its authenticity, which requires considerable care. Maintenance days in the Villa Tugendhat therefore take place every year, when the technical condition of the house is revised, regular maintenance takes place and any defects are removed. This need arises due to the enormous strain of all year round operation and the large number of visitors (more than 30 000 per year).
Some interventions are preventive in nature in order to prevent the risk of irreversible damage to those elements which are an important source of authentic information.
SOME SELECTED REPAIRS PLANNED DURING MAINTENANCE DAYS 2015:
Repair of the sliding windows retracting mechanism in the main living room.
Two of the large format windows in the main living room of the Villa Tugendhat are designed as fully retractable, each propelled by an electric engine. The structure of the sliding window is original, i.e. from 1930. Later it underwent some modifications, especially in the 1980’s and the last one in 2012. During the restoration, the windows were restored with the utmost regard to preserving as much of the original features and represented the most problematic segment of restoring the metallic elements.
The retracting mechanism experienced a considerable level of wear due to excessive use of for organized visitor tours. The intention is to maintain one electrically triggered window as one of the main examples of timeless technical solutions used in this family house from the 1930’s.
Revision of joints in stone elements.
In exterior stonework, there will be a detailed revision and renewal of joints.
Internal surfaces.
Due to visitor traffic there is extreme wear on internal surfaces in the house, especially plastering and tiling. During the maintenance days the surfaces will be cleaned and treated in damaged areas.
Outer surfaces.
The villa is presented as an architecturally coherent set of restored originals. An important authentic element of the buildings is its plastering. During monument restoration, the international expert team THICOM helped to decide on the best way of restoration, which consisted in maintaining the original substance and material composition of the original. Parts of the façade, which are the most subject to wear due to weather conditions, will be part of the regular care and maintenance routine and will be re-fitted with glazing lime paint.