VILLA TUGENDHAT

NAME: SAYALI KHAIRNAR

ROLL NO:09
 INTRODUCTION

Villa Tugendhat
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• Born in Germany the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is considered as pioneer of the so “modern architecture” or also
the architecture of “skin and bones”.
• Buildings reflecting his genius can be found not only in Europe, but also in the USA where hw spent certain part of his life.
• One of his masterpieces is the villa of the Tugendhat family located in the Moravian metropolis Brno, the Czech republic.
• Villa Tugendhat represents a combination of modern architecture and hi-tech technologies of that time.
HISTORY

• The functionalist villa Tugendhat is such a well-known building that it does not
need a long introduction but let us remind just a few key moments from its
history.
• Villa Tugendhat was designed in the studio of German architect Ludwig Mies van
der Rohe.
• It was built for the family of Greta and fritz Tugendhat who lived there from year
1930. Exterior view of Villa Tugendhat

• In the following years there were Gestapo(1939), soviet army (1945), the dance https://www.archdaily.com

school (until 1950) and physiotherapy gym (after 1950).

• In 1963 it was put on the state list of real estate cultural monuments.
• The first renovation was undertaken in the years 1982-1958.
• In 1995 it was given the status of national cultural monument, and in 2001 it
was put on the UNESCO list of world heritage site.
• The second large renovation of the villa started in 2010 and the grand reopening
was held on march 2012.
Interior view of Villa Tugendhat
• The renovation brought the villa into the form as it was in the years 1930-1938.
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SPECIAL HIGH TECHNOLOGIES

• Apart from the perfect architecture the villa has exceptional service and technical amenities: especially the timeless
system of large sash windows in the living space driven by the electric motor, and a unique air-condition system
which treated the air in the living space (it enabled heating, cooling and humidification at the same time).

• Among other unconventional and timeless services were included: service lift, kitchen lift, photocell light motion
sensor at the terrace, or the rainwater tank in the basement.

Interior view of Villa Tugendhat

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Interior view of Villa Tugendhat

Staircase view in Villa Tugendhat
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PASSIVE SOLAR ARCHITECTURE

GSFT Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.1

• The term “passive solar architecture” refers discipline which focuses on heating and cooling of buildings by using
passive solar energy.
• The principle of passive solar energy is to use the solar energy directly without any technical devices (active
components).
• Predominantly it is the so called “greenhouse effect” when the sun beams enter the glass parts of buildings and the
heat accumulates in the structure and objects in the rooms.
• The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates designed a house which maximized the potential of solar energy gains in
winter and minimized overheating in summer.
• This house which was designed corresponding exactly to the heights and azimuths of the sun in the course of a day
and a year is called “Socrats’ house” and its principles have been used up to now.
COMPONENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR ARCHITECTURE

Characteristic elements of passive solar architecture, namely

the following passive elements:
• Placement of a building into terrain and its ideal solar orientation;

• The size and orientation of glazed (translucent) area-the largest

glazed areas placed on the south, south-east or south-west
façade; winter garden on the east or west side; while on the north
façade we possibly do not place any, or very small glazed areas;

• A selection of suitable shading components (solar screen,

Detail of passive solar element
venetian blinds, awnings, roller blinds, shutters, anti-reflective
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coating, curtains and drapery, greenery) contribute to the

minimization of unwanted solar gains in summer;

• Creation of accumulation cores in buildings: consists in the

suitable composition of structures where thermal mass is mostly
represented by concrete, on the exterior it is sufficient layer of
thermal insulation;
 Interior view Villa Tugendhat Interior view Villa Tugendhat
https://www.archdaily.com https://www.archdaily.com

• Creation of accumulation cores in buildings: consists in the suitable composition of structures where thermal mass is
mostly represented by concrete, on the exterior it is sufficient layer of thermal insulation;
• Plan thermal zoning, based on the rooms layout in the Socrats’ house, the living area is oriented to the south and in
the core of the house; the north side houses dressing rooms, bathrooms, store rooms, utility rooms, etc.
• Apart from the above mentioned basic passive elements, the passive solar architecture includes solar walls collectors
(Trombe wall), solar chimneys, or double-skin facades and roofs (air collectors fitted into the facades and roofs).
THE ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR ARCHITECTURE IN VILLA TUGENDHAT

1. Building orientation:
• The building is set in a sloping terrain.

• It complies with the rule of orientation where the north-east part of building is set in the slope (only the upper
floor is above the terrain) which helps to minimize the heat losses- the soil serves as insulation.

• While the south-west part of building is open (all three floors are above the terrain) and maximizes solar gains.

2. Plan thermal zoning:

• The villa again complies with the rule of living rooms (the room of the landlord, of the lady, of the children, of the
governess, living space and kitchen) form the southern buffer zone and partly the core of the building.

• The northern buffer zone is formed by utility and technical rooms (staircase, bathrooms, toilet, dressing rooms,
food store, corridors).
Section of Villa Tugendhat showing passive solar architecture elements
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 Winter garden
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Staircase detail
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Basement floor plan of Villa Tugendhat

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Onyx partition
Ebony wood partition https://upload.wikimedia.org
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3. Shading elements:
• The shading elements are placed on the windows facing southwest.

• On the top floor the shading elements are wooden louvers on winding drum placed on the windows of all rooms.

1. The windows of the living space are provided with retractable canvas awnings (when fully extended they form
about 0 angle with the window level).

2. Further shading is provided by the deciduous trees planted at the southeast side of the building (they shade the
glazed side with the winter garden).
4. Internal thermal mass:
• Also in this aspect the conditions are met.
• The floors in the room were made of so called Sorel cement
(mortar with magnesium oxide additive, and wood-chip filler).
• In the restoration of the villa in 1980s the Sorel cement was
replaced by the concrete slab reinforced with wire mesh which is
similar thermal accumulation properties.
• The flooring was chosen with regard to the purpose of each
room: travertine (from the Tivoli region, Italy), concrete slab,
ceramic tiles, and in the living rooms was DLW linoleum
(Germany).
• After 1945 the DLW linoleum was replaced by Xylolite which was
again in the restoration in the years 2010-2012 replaced by
Linoleum with pure coating.
• The composition of these layers is able to accumulate sun heat in Flooring detail of Villa Tugendhat
the largest window panels in the living space are from glass of
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10mm.
• The glass is of a similar composition as crystal.
5. The dimension and orientation of glazing:
• The photo represents a model of villa Tugendhat from the east (on the left above) and from the west (on the right
below).

• The model shows that the building has a compact form and the largest glazing is placed on the south-east and
south-west façade.

• Also the winter garden is oriented to the south-east.

• While the north-east (to the street Cernopolni) and the windows are small in dimension.

Model of Villa Tugendhat Model of Villa Tugendhat

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 Basement plan

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 Ground floor plan

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/315463148892057715/
 First floor plan

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 Side elevations

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 Front elevation

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INFERENCE

• Villa Tugendhat was precocious at the time of its erection as the skeleton structure, specially imported materials,
and technical equipment were without parallel.

• As we have seen its design is optimized and there are used the same principles of solar architecture that are the
basics of the contemporary low-energy, passive, and zero-energy houses.

• As mentioned before villa Tugendhat possesses a range of technical specifies.

REFERENCES

• https://www.architectmagazine.com

• https://www.archdaily.com

• GSFT Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.1

• https://www.sawdust.online/projects/villa-tugendhat-brno-czech-republic-mies-van-der-rohe/