Tugendhat House

Brno/Czech Republic, Černopolní 45, Tugendhat House, North façade, after restoration. Photo: Jong Soung Kimm 2012
Brno/Czech Republic, Černopolní 45, Tugendhat House, North façade, after restoration. Photo: Jong Soung Kimm 2012

Brno, Friday, September 6, 2024

Brno, Stolpersteine in front of the Tugendhat House. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Brno, Stolpersteine in front of the Tugendhat House. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024

STUMBLING STONES IN MEMORY OF THE HOŽE, LÖW-BEER AND TUGENDHAT FAMILIES

In a ceremonial act on Friday, September 6, 2024, stumbling blocks were inaugurated in front of six houses in the area of Drobneho / Park Street, Antonína Slavíka / Beischlägergasse and Černopolní / Schwarzfeld Street in Brno, commemorating more than 20 fellow citizens who were expelled and murdered by the Nazis for racist reasons because they were Jews.

The stumbling blocks on the sidewalk in front of the house of the expelled and murdered former Jewish residents and Czechoslovak citizens document their names and the dates of their birth and death.

These families also lost their property to the Nazis. After the Second World War, their property was not returned to them. Three of the houses are museums and are among the most important tourist attractions in Brno. The Tugendhat House has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.

Among the numerous visitors to the six ceremonies were high-ranking representatives of public life, including

      Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

      Vlastimíl Válek, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic

      Mikuláš Bek, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports;

      Jan Grolich, Governor of South Moravia

      Markéta Vaňková, Lord Mayor of Brno

      Martin Maleček, Mayor of Brno North

      Petra Dachtler, Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany

      Zbyněk Šolc, General Director of the Brno City Museum

      Vladimír Březina, Deputy Director of the Brno Regional Museum

      Karol Sidon, Chief Rabbi of the Czech Republic

      Jáchym Kanarek, Chairman of the Brno Jewish Community

      Eva Yildizová, Director of the STETL Fest Brno

      Zuzana Palicová, Director of the Bratislava City Museum

      Eva Lustigová, Director of the Arnošt Lustig Foundation

      Petr Kalousek, Director of the Meeting Brno Festivals

      Mojmír Jeřábek, former director of the Czech Center Vienna.

 

Brno, Drobného 18, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hože. Participants of the ceremony. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024
Brno, Drobného 18, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hože. Participants of the ceremony. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024

The following descendants of the survivors took part:

From Austria:

      Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, youngest daughter of Grete and Fritz Tugendhat, builders of the Tugendhat House (Cernopolní 45), her husband

      Ivo Hammer-Tugendhat and their two sons

      Matthias Hammer and

      Lukas Hammer with his daughters

      Anouk and

      Naima

 

From the USA the children of Herbert Tugendhat, who was born in the Tugendhat House, and Katherine Tugendhat-Logan:

      Eduardo Tugendhat with daughter

      Sara

      Marcia Tugendhat

      Andrés Tugendhat and his wife

      Karin Tugendhat

 

From Switzerland:

      Daniel Low-Beer, grandson of Walter Löw-Beer, owner of the wool factory in Brünnlitz / Brněnec, made famous by the film Schindler's List

 

From the Czech Republic

      Alexej Zinner, Descendant of Pauline Zinner, née Tugendhat, aunt of Fritz Tugendhat. She lived in the house Drobného 18.

Brno, Arnold House: Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat with Markéta Vaňková and Zbyněk Šolc. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr September 6, 2024
Brno, Arnold House: Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat with Markéta Vaňková and Zbyněk Šolc. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr September 6, 2024
Brno, Cecilie and Cornel Hože Garden. Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat with her husband and son Matthias, in the background the Arnold house. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024
Brno, Cecilie and Cornel Hože Garden. Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat with her husband and son Matthias, in the background the Arnold house. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024

from left: Andrés Tugendhat, Marcia Tugendhat, Sara Tugendhat, Karin Tugendhat, Anouk Herzog, Eduardo Tugendhat, Lukas Hammer, Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, Naima Herzog, Matthias Hammer, Ivo Hammer-Tugendhat
Brno, Cecilie and Cornel Hoze-Garten. Descendants of the survivors who traveled from the USA and Austria. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr 6. 9.2024
Brno, Cecilie and Cornel Hoze garden. Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, welcomes descendants of the survivors. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024
Brno, Cecilie and Cornel Hoze garden. Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, welcomes descendants of the survivors. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024

Organization:

The stumbling blocks and the ceremonial act of inauguration were organized by

      Museum of the City of Brno (General Director Zbiněk Šolc) together with

      Meeting Brno (Director Petr Kalousek),

      Museum Brno (Vladimír Březina), the

      STETL Fest (Eva Yildizová) and the

      Jewish Community of Brno (Jáchym Kanarek)

 

Veronika Smyslová. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024
Veronika Smyslová. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024
Michal Doležel. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024
Michal Doležel. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024

 

The initiators of the stumbling blocks are Veronika Smyslová, director of the Arnold House / Department of the Brno City Museum and Michal Doležel, Brno City Museum.

 

Historical research: Michal Dolezel, Peter Houzar, Veronika Wihodová, Kateřina Kalvodová, Silvia Klimešová, Jana Bělkovská, Lucie Valdhansovoá, Jáchym Kanarek, Ivo Hammer, Michael Lambek, Jacqueline Solway, Marcia Tugendhat, Ema Přikrylová, Jana Nešporová and Oldřich Smysl.

 

Ceremonial act

The act of opening the stumbling blocks began in front of the Arnold House with its Cecilie and Cornel Hože garden. The dignified ceremony included the unveiling of the stumbling blocks, the reading of the names and dates (by Michal Doležel), prayers and the laying of roses by the speakers and descendants of the families. The ceremonies were accompanied by touching music by Hana Bednaríková (violin) and – in front of the Tugendhat House – also by Ester Yildizová (singing).

 

Brno, Drobného 18, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hoze, speech by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr 6. 9.2024
Brno, Drobného 18, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hoze, speech by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr 6. 9.2024
Brno, Drobného 22, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hoze, v. left: Petr Fiala, Vlastimíl Válek, Markéta Vaňková, Jáchym Kanarek, Jan Grolich, Martin Maleček. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr September 6, 2024
Brno, Drobného 22, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hoze, v. left: Petr Fiala, Vlastimíl Válek, Markéta Vaňková, Jáchym Kanarek, Jan Grolich, Martin Maleček. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr September 6, 2024
Brno, Drobného, 22, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hoze, Daniela Hammer Tugendhat and her family. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024
Brno, Drobného, 22, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hoze, Daniela Hammer Tugendhat and her family. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024

 

After the speeches by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Minister Mikuláš Bek, Governor Jan Grolich, Lord Mayor Markéta Vaňková, General Director Zbiněk Šolc, Chairman of the Jewish Community of Brno Jáchym Kanarek, Lukas Hammer, grandson of Grete and Fritz Tugendhat and member of the Austrian National Parliament (Greens), gave a speech which is documented here. (The speech was given in English and translated into Czech on site by Katka Báňová).

Lukas Hammer, Brno, Drobného 18, speech at the inauguration of the stumbling blocks. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr 6.9.2024
Lukas Hammer, Brno, Drobného 18, speech at the inauguration of the stumbling blocks. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr 6.9.2024
Listeners to Lukas Hammer's speech, Brno, 6.9.2024. Photo: Petr Odehnal, MuMB
Listeners to Lukas Hammer's speech, Brno, 6.9.2024. Photo: Petr Odehnal, MuMB

Lukas Hammer: Speech at the opening of the Stolpersteine. Brno 6.9.2024

Dear members of government

Dear family

Dear ladies and gentlemen!

 

During our first visit together to Brno, I was 7 years old, and I can only remember one thing. My then seriously ill aunt Hanna stood in her former childhood room for the first time since her escape. When she tried to open the door to the terrace, the caretaker yelled at her so harshly that she flinched. It was as if she had been expelled from her home for a second time.

 

She was not welcome and unwanted in the house. We often felt this way in the following years. Even more: on several occasions, during official tours of the house, it was explained upon inquiry that no one from the family had survived. Perhaps because the following question might have been uncomfortable to answer. The question of why it was decided that not a single one of the houses will be returned to the families.

 

Today, stumbling stones are being laid in the ground in front of the houses of our displaced and murdered relatives. To remember the family and the people who lived here until the Nazi terror. Who had their homes here. For us as a family, these houses are primarily not cultural sites, but a home. A home where we would have played in the garden with our relatives as children. Places where we would have returned together as a large family.

 

When the Tugendhat and Löw-Beer families were invited to come to Brno seven years ago, we felt this way for the first time. Over 100 members of our family from four continents, who in some cases didn't even know each other before, gathered in the garden of my grandparents. It was also a strong sign that not only were people expelled and murdered here, but that many survived.

 

I am infinitely grateful to the organizers of Meeting Brno for these moments. It fills me with joy to see that there are indeed so many people in Brno who are committed to an active culture of remembrance in various ways. For whom remembrance is more than just a symbolic act, where one thinks about completed events in the past. I have met so many committed people in and from Brno who are grappling with their own responsibility and history - many of which are here today. Who are asking themselves what all of this has to do with us today and who don’t want to make it too easy for themselves.

 

The stumbling stones remind us of who once lived here and what happened to them. Like, for example, in the Antonina Slavíka 9, where Renate Schwarz, my mother's cousin, lived. Renate was 13 years old when she, like her brother Thomas and her parents Lise and Richard, was murdered in the gas chambers of the Nazis.

 

But hopefully, the stumbling stones will also provoke thought.

 

What happened to these people and their families who once lived here? How could it come to the point where people were so consumed by hate that they deliberately murdered children like Renate in gas chambers? What must happen beforehand in a society and in the people within it? How can we prevent this from ever happening again? How did it start, and what does it have to do with us and with me today?

 

Last Sunday, the openly far-right AfD received over 30 percent in state elections in two German states. In many other European countries, far-right and post-fascist parties are on the rise. This time, the hate is directed against refugees and people from Afghanistan, Syria, or the African continent.

 

For me, "Never Again" does not mean "never again to us Jews." It means never again to any human being. Never again denying people their humanity, never again racism against any group, never again politics driven by hate, prejudice, and incitement.

 

It never begins with murder; it begins with words, with playing on fear and anger. With opportunism and indifference.

 

In this sense, I hope that the stumbling stones being laid in the ground today will contribute to reflecting on the crimes that people are ultimately capable of and how we can counter the dehumanization of others.

STOLPERSTEINE / Stumbling Stones

Ex: MuMB (ed.), HOŽE, LÖW-BEER, TUGENDHAT. DROBNÉHO, ANTONÌNA SLAVÍKA, ČERNOPLNÍ. Guide to the Stolpersteine (Text: Michal Doležel), Brno 2024
Ex: MuMB (ed.), HOŽE, LÖW-BEER, TUGENDHAT. DROBNÉHO, ANTONÌNA SLAVÍKA, ČERNOPLNÍ. Guide to the Stolpersteine (Text: Michal Doležel), Brno 2024

Drobného / Parkstraße 26, Arnold House, Cecilie and Cornel Hože - Garden

Cecilie was an aunt of Grete Tugendhat

 

ZDE ŽILA

CECILIE HOŽE

ROZ. LÖW-BEER

NAR. 11. 6. 1864

DEPORTOVÁNA 12. 5. 1942 

DO TEREZÍNA

ZAVRAŽDENA 7. 9. 1942 

V TEREZÍNĚ

 

HERE LIVED

CECILIE HOŽE

NÉE LÖW-BEER

BORN ON 11. 6. 1864

DEPORTED ON 12. 5. 1942

TO THERESIENSTADT

MURDERED ON 7. 9. 1942

IN THERESIENSTADT

 

ZDE ŽIL

MAX HOŽE

NAR. 4. 10. 1888

DEPORTOVÁN 12. 5. 1942

DO TEREZÍNA

ZAVRAŽDĚN 23. 6. 1942

V MAJDANKU

 

HERE LIVED

MAX HOŽE

BORN ON 4. 10. 1888

DEPORTED ON 12. 5. 1942

TO THERESIENSTADT

MURDERED ON 7. 9. 1942

IN MAJDANEK

 

ZDE ŽILA

FRIEDERIKE HOŽE

ROZ. KESSLER 

NAR. 15. 12. 1896

DEPORTOVÁNA 12. 5. 1942 

DO TEREZÍNA

ZAVRAŽDĚNA 1942

V LUBLINU

 

HERE LIVED

FRIEDERIKE HOŽE

NÉE KESSLER

BORN ON 15. 12. 1896

DEPORTED ON 12. 5. 1942

TO THERESIENSTADT

MURDERED ON 7. 9. 1942

IN LUBLIN

 

Cecilie and Cornel Hože (1854-1936), Roger Pollak archive
Cecilie and Cornel Hože (1854-1936), Roger Pollak archive
Max and Friederike Hože, Roger Pollak archive
Max and Friederike Hože, Roger Pollak archive

Arnold House, before renovation 2023, © Ivo Hammer 2020
Arnold House, before renovation 2023, © Ivo Hammer 2020
Arnold House, including Café Cecilie („Cilly“),© MuMB 2024
Arnold House, including Café Cecilie („Cilly“),© MuMB 2024

Daniela and Ivo Hammer-Tugendhat lay roses on the stumbling blocks for the family of Daniela's great-aunt "Cilly" Hože; Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Daniela and Ivo Hammer-Tugendhat lay roses on the stumbling blocks for the family of Daniela's great-aunt "Cilly" Hože; Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Lukas Hammer with his two daughters at the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hože; Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Lukas Hammer with his two daughters at the stumbling blocks for Cecilie, Max and Friederike Hože; Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Stolpersteine for Cecilie, Max und Friederike Hože. Photo: Petr Odehnal, 6.9.2024
Stolpersteine for Cecilie, Max und Friederike Hože. Photo: Petr Odehnal, 6.9.2024

Drobneho / Parkstraße 22, Alfred und Marianne Löw-Beer House

Alfred und Marianne Löw-Beer are the parents of Grete Tugendhat

ZDE ŽIL

ALFRED LÖW-BEER

NAR. 16. 5. 1872

ZEMŘEL ZA NEZNÁMÝCH OKOLNOSTÍ

BĚHEM ÚTĚKU PŘED NACISTY

10. 4. 1939

NALAZEN NA KOLEJIŠTI U STŘÍBRA

 

 

 

HERE LIVED

ALFRED LÖW-BEER

BORN ON 16.05.1872

HE DIED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES WHILE FLEEING FROM THE NAZIS

HE WAS FOUND ON 10.04.1939

ON THE RAILWAY TRACKS NEAR STŘÍBRA

 

ZDE ŽILA

MARIANNE LÖW-BEER

ROZ. WIEDMANN

NAR. 2. 9. 1882

UPRCHLA PŘED NACISTY

V ROCE 1939

ZEMŘELA 16. 11. 1975

V ST. GALLENU

 

HERE LIVED

MARIANNE LÖW-BEER

NÉE WIEDMANN

BORN ON 09.02.1882

SHE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1939

SHE DIED ON 16.11.1975

IN ST. GALLEN

 

ZDE ŽIL

MAX LÖW-BEER

NAR. 11. 4. 1902

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY

V ROCE 1939

ZEMŘEL 7. 4. 1954

VE VANCOUVERU

 

HERE LIVED

MAX LÖW-BEER

BORN ON APRIL 11, 1902

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1939

HE DIED ON APRIL 7, 1954

IN VANCOUVER

 

ZDE ŽIL

HANS LÖW-BEER

NAR. 22. 2. 1911

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY

V ROCE 1939

ZEMŘEL 8. 5 1993

V MONTREALU

 

HERE LIVED

HANS LÖW-BEER

BORN ON FEBRUARY 22, 1911

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1939

HE DIED ON MAY 8, 1993

IN MONTREAL

 

Brno, Parkstrasse/Drobného, historical photo. Photo: Archive Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat
Brno, Parkstrasse/Drobného, historical photo. Photo: Archive Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat
Brno, Alfred und Marianne Löw-Beer House. Photo: Martin Strachoň / Wikimedia Commons 2015; https://www.vilalowbeer.cz/de/
Brno, Alfred und Marianne Löw-Beer House. Photo: Martin Strachoň / Wikimedia Commons 2015; https://www.vilalowbeer.cz/de/

Alfred und Marianne Löw-Beer. Photo: Archive Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat
Alfred und Marianne Löw-Beer. Photo: Archive Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat
Brno, Drobného 22, Prime Minister Petr Fiala honors the stumbling blocks for Marianne, Alfred, Max and Hans Löw-Beer. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Brno, Drobného 22, Prime Minister Petr Fiala honors the stumbling blocks for Marianne, Alfred, Max and Hans Löw-Beer. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024

Brno, Drobného 22, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Marianne, Alfred, Max and Hans Löw-Beer. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Brno, Drobného 22, inauguration of the stumbling blocks for Marianne, Alfred, Max and Hans Löw-Beer. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024

Drobného / Parkstraße 18, Hans und Wilhelmina Tugendhat House

Hans Tugendhat was a brother of Fritz Tugendhat

ZDE ŽIL

HANS TUGENDHAT

NAR. 23. 9. 1894

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY

ZEMŘEL 1979

V TORONTU

 

HERE LIVED

HANS TUGENDHAT

BORN ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1894

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

HE DIED IN 1979

IN TORONTO

 

ZDE ŽILA

VILEMINA MARIANA AUGUSTATUGENDHAT

ROZ. HERRNRITT

NAR. 2. 2. 1903

UPRCHLA PŘED NACISTY

ZEMŘELA PO 1993

V TORONTU

 

HERE LIVED

VILEMINA MARIANA AUGUSTA TUGENDHAT

NÉE HERRNRITT

BORN ON FEBRUARY 2, 1903

SHE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

SHE DIED IN 1993

IN TORONTO

 

ZDE ŽIL

PETER CLAUS TUGENDHAT

NAR. 29. 10. 1925

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY

V ROCE 1939

ZEMŘEL 1981

V CARACASU

 

HERE LIVED 

PETER CLAUS TUGENDHAT

BORN ON OCTOBER 29, 1925

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1939

HE DIED IN 1981

IN CARACAS

 

Parkstraße 24, -22, -18, hitorical photo. Photo: Archiv Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat
Parkstraße 24, -22, -18, hitorical photo. Photo: Archiv Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat
Brno, Drobného 18, ex: MuMB (ed.), Hoze, Löw-Beer, Tugendhat. Drobného, Antonìna Slavíka, Černopolní. Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno (MumB) 2024, p. 20
Brno, Drobného 18, ex: MuMB (ed.), Hoze, Löw-Beer, Tugendhat. Drobného, Antonìna Slavíka, Černopolní. Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno (MumB) 2024, p. 20

Photo: Marie Schmerková, 6.9.2024
Photo: Marie Schmerková, 6.9.2024
Brno, Drobného 18, Stolpersteine for Hans, Wilhelmina und Peter Claus Tugendhat. Photo: Marie Schmerková, 6.9.2024
Brno, Drobného 18, Stolpersteine for Hans, Wilhelmina und Peter Claus Tugendhat. Photo: Marie Schmerková, 6.9.2024

Antonína Slavíka / Beischlägergasse (Na Kopečku) 9, Richard und Lisa Schwarz House

Lisa Schwarz was Fritz Tugendhat's favorite sister

ZDE ŽILA

LISE SCHWARZ

ROZ. TUGENDHAT

NAR. 27. 11. 1900

DEPORTOVÁNA 

28. 1. 1942

ZAVRAŽDĚNA

PO 13. 6. 1942

V OSVĚTIMI

 

HERE LIVED

LISE SCHWARZ

NÉE TUGENDHAT

BORN ON 27. 11. 1900

DEPORTED 

ON 28. 1. 1942

MURDERED 

ON 13. 6. 1942

IN AUSCHWITZ

 

ZDE ŽIL

RICHARD SCHWARZ

NAR. 7. 7. 1887

DEPORTOVÁN

28. 1. 1942

ZAVRAŽDĚN

PO 13. 6. 1942

NA NEZNÁMÉM MÍSTĚ

 

HERE LIVED

RICHARD SCHWARZ

BORN ON 7. 7. 1887

DEPORTED ON

28. 1. 1942

MURDERED 

ON 13. 6. 1942

IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION

 

ZDE ŽIL

THOMAS SCHWARZ

NAR. 10. 4. 1926

DEPORTOVÁN

28. 1. 1942

ZAVRAŽDĚN

4. 9. 1942

V MAJDANKU

 

HERE LIVED

THOMAS SCHWARZ

BORN ON APRIL 10, 1926

DEPORTED 

ON JANUARY 28, 1942

MURDERED 

ON SEPTEMBER 4, 1942

IN MAIDANEK

 

ZDE ŽILA

RENATE SCHWARZ

NAR. 20. 3. 1929

DEPORTOVÁNA

28. 1. 1942

ZAVRAŽDĚNA

PO 13. 6. 1942 

NA NEZNÁMÉM MÍSTĚ

 

HIER WOHNTE

RENATE SCHWARZ

GEBOREN AM 20. 3. 1929

DEPORTIERT AM

28. 1. 1942

ERMORDET 

AM 13. 6. 1942 

AN EINEM UNBEKANNTEN ORT

 

Brno, Antonína Slavíka 7 und 9, 1941, Moravian Provincial Archive‚ B 392 collection (ex: MuMB (ed.), Guide to the Stolpersteine, 2024, p. 31.)
Brno, Antonína Slavíka 7 und 9, 1941, Moravian Provincial Archive‚ B 392 collection (ex: MuMB (ed.), Guide to the Stolpersteine, 2024, p. 31.)
Renate Schwarz, ca. 1937. Photo: Fritz Tugendhat
Renate Schwarz, ca. 1937. Photo: Fritz Tugendhat

Lisa, Tom and Renate Schwarz on the upper terrace of the Tugendhat house, ca. 1934. Photo: Fritz Tugendhat
Lisa, Tom and Renate Schwarz on the upper terrace of the Tugendhat house, ca. 1934. Photo: Fritz Tugendhat
Brno, Haus Tugendhat, charity card game with Ernst and Herbert Tugendhat, Tom and Renate Schwarz. Photo: Fritz Tugendhat 1937/38
Brno, Haus Tugendhat, charity card game with Ernst and Herbert Tugendhat, Tom and Renate Schwarz. Photo: Fritz Tugendhat 1937/38

Brno, Antonína Slavíka 9, façade (ex: MuMB, Guide to the Stolpersteine, 2024, p 28.)
Brno, Antonína Slavíka 9, façade (ex: MuMB, Guide to the Stolpersteine, 2024, p 28.)
Brno, Antonína Slavíka 9, Stolpersteine for Richard, Lisa, Thomas und Renate Schwarz; Photo: Marie Schmerková 6.9.2024
Brno, Antonína Slavíka 9, Stolpersteine for Richard, Lisa, Thomas und Renate Schwarz; Photo: Marie Schmerková 6.9.2024

Antonína Slavíka / Beischlägergasse (Na Kopečku) 13, Benno und Germaine Tugendhat House

Benno was an uncle of Fritz Tugendhat

ZDE ŽIL

BENNO TUGENDHAT

NAR. 2. 9. 1877

PŘED DEPORTACÍ 

DO KONCENTRAČNÍHO TÁBORA

SE ZASTŘELIL

10. 1. 1942

 

HERE LIVED

BENNO TUGENDHAT

BORN ON SEPTEMBER 2ND, 1877

BEFORE BEING DEPORTED TO A CONCENTRATION CAMP, HE SHOT HIMSELF ON

JANUARY 10TH, 1942

 

ZDE ŽILA

GERMAINE LEODIE CESARIE TUGENDHAT

ROZ. MONNIN

NAR. 20. 9. 1880

UPRCHLA PŘED NACISTY

ZEMŘELA 30. 11. 1985

VE VÍDNI

 

HERE LIVED

GERMAINE LEODIE CESARIE TUGENDHAT

NÉE MONNIN

BORN ON SEPTEMBER 20, 1880

SHE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

SHE DIED ON NOVEMBER 30, 1985

IN VIENNA

 

ZDE ŽIL

RENÉ ERIC TUGENDHAT

NAR. 27. 7. 1909

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY

ZEMŘEL 1987

V BUENOS AIRES

 

HERE LIVED

RENÉ ERIC TUGENDHAT

BORN ON 27 JULY 1909

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

HE DIED IN 1987

IN BUENOS AIRES

 

ZDE ŽILA

ANNA MARIE TUGENDHAT

NAR. 11. 6. 1914

UPRCHLA PŘED NACISTY

ZEMŘELA NEZNÁMO KDE

 

HERE LIVED

ANNA MARIE TUGENDHAT

BORN ON 11. 6. 1914

SHE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

SHE DIED IN AN UNKNOWN PLACE

 

Brno, Antonina Slavíka 13, 1941. Moravian Provincial Archive, B 392 collection; ex: MuMB (ed.), Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno 2024, p. 39
Brno, Antonina Slavíka 13, 1941. Moravian Provincial Archive, B 392 collection; ex: MuMB (ed.), Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno 2024, p. 39
  Brno, Antonina Slavíka 13, 1941. Moravian Provincial Archive, B 392 collection (ex: MuMB, Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno 2024, p. 39)   Brno, Antonina Slavíka 13, 2024; ex: MuMB (ed.), Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno 2024, p. 39
Brno, Antonina Slavíka 13, 1941. Moravian Provincial Archive, B 392 collection (ex: MuMB, Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno 2024, p. 39) Brno, Antonina Slavíka 13, 2024; ex: MuMB (ed.), Guide to the Stolpersteine, Brno 2024, p. 39

Brno, Antonìna Slavíka 13. Eduardo reveals the stumbling blocks. Photo: Marie Schmerková September 6, 2024
Brno, Antonìna Slavíka 13. Eduardo reveals the stumbling blocks. Photo: Marie Schmerková September 6, 2024
Brno, Antonìna Slavíka 13, Stolpersteine for Benno, Germaine, René und Anna Tugendhat. Photo: Marie Schmerková 6.9.2024
Brno, Antonìna Slavíka 13, Stolpersteine for Benno, Germaine, René und Anna Tugendhat. Photo: Marie Schmerková 6.9.2024

Černopolní / Schwarzfeldstraße 45, Tugendhat House

ZDE ŽILA

GRETE TUGENDHAT

ROZ. LÖW-BEER

NAR. 16. 5. 1903

UPRCHLA PŘED NACISTY

 V ROCE 1938

ZEMŘELA 10. 12. 1970 

V ST. GALLENU

 

HERE LIVED

GRETE TUGENDHAT

NÉE LÖW-BEER

BORN ON 16. 5. 1903

SHE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1938

SHE DIED ON 10. 12. 1970

IN ST. GALLEN

 

ZDE ŽIL

FRITZ TUGENDHAT

NAR. 10. 10. 1895

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY

 V ROCE 1938

ZEMŘEL 22. 3 1958

V ST. GALLENU

 

HERE LIVED

FRITZ TUGENDHAT 

BORN ON 10. 10. 1895

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1938

HE DIED ON 22. 3. 1958

IN ST. GALLEN

 

ZDE ŽILA

HANNA LAMBEK 

ROZ. WEISS

NAR. 29. 11. 1924

UPRCHLA PŘED NACISTY 

V ROCE 1938

ZEMŘELA 4. 1. 1991 

V MONTREALU

 

HERE LIVED

HANNA LAMBEK

NÉE WEISS

BORN ON 29. 11. 1924

SHE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1938

SHE DIED ON 4. 1. 1991

IN MONTREAL

 

ZDE ŽIL

ERNST TUGENDHAT

NAR. 8. 3. 1930

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY 

V ROCE 1938

ZEMŘEL 13. 3. 2023

VE FREIBURGU IM BREISGAU

 

HERE LIVED

ERNST TUGENDHAT

BORN ON MARCH 8, 1930

HE FLED FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1938

HE DIED ON MARCH 13, 2023

IN FREIBURG IM BREISGAU

 

ZDE ŽIL

HERBERT TUGENDHAT

NAR. 24. 2. 1933

UPRCHL PŘED NACISTY 

V ROCE 1938

ZEMŘEL 30. 8. 1980

V CARACASU

HERE LIVED

HERBERT TUGENDHAT

BORN ON FEBRUARY 24, 1933

HE FLEW FROM THE NAZIS

IN 1938

HE DIED ON AUGUST 30, 1980

IN CARACAS

Brno, Schwarzfeldstrasse 45, Tugendhat House (from the east), Photo: Rudolf de Sandalo 1931
Brno, Schwarzfeldstrasse 45, Tugendhat House (from the east), Photo: Rudolf de Sandalo 1931
Brno, Černopolní 45, Tugendhat House (branch of the pediatric clinic). Photo: Zwi Guggenheim 1963
Brno, Černopolní 45, Tugendhat House (branch of the pediatric clinic). Photo: Zwi Guggenheim 1963

Brno, Černopolní 45, Tugendhat House, after the 2nd restoration. Photo: Jong Soung Kimm, September 2012
Brno, Černopolní 45, Tugendhat House, after the 2nd restoration. Photo: Jong Soung Kimm, September 2012
Grete Tugendhat in the chaise longue of the Tugendhat House. Photo (duxochromy) Fritz Tugendhat, ca. 1934
Grete Tugendhat in the chaise longue of the Tugendhat House. Photo (duxochromy) Fritz Tugendhat, ca. 1934
Fritz Tugendhat: Self-portrait in the Tugendhat House, Duxochromy ca. 1934
Fritz Tugendhat: Self-portrait in the Tugendhat House, Duxochromy ca. 1934

Hanna Weiss says goodbye to her two brothers in front of the onyx wall. Photo Fritz Tugendhat, 1938
Hanna Weiss says goodbye to her two brothers in front of the onyx wall. Photo Fritz Tugendhat, 1938
Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat unveils the stumbling blocks in front of her parents' house. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat unveils the stumbling blocks in front of her parents' house. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024

Lord Mayor Markéta Vaňková honoring the stumbling blocks in front of the Tugendhat House. Photos: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Lord Mayor Markéta Vaňková honoring the stumbling blocks in front of the Tugendhat House. Photos: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Honoring the stumbling blocks in front of the Tugendhat House. Photos: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024
Honoring the stumbling blocks in front of the Tugendhat House. Photos: Jakub Šnaidr, 6.9.2024

After the Ceremony

Brno, Tugendhat House, VIP tour (English) by Ivo Hammer. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024
Brno, Tugendhat House, VIP tour (English) by Ivo Hammer. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr, 6. 9.2024
Karin and Andrés Tugendhat
Brno, Tugendhat House, Upper Terrace, "archaeological window" with the original facade surface. Photo: Jakub Šnaidr , 6. 9.2024

(from left): Matthias Hammer, *, Eduardo Tugendhat, Alexej Zinner, Sara Tugendhat, Naima and Anouk Herzog, Andrés, Karin and Marcia Tugendhat, Lukas Hammer, Ivo and Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat; *Daniel Low-Beer.
Brno, Tugendhat House, members of the Tugendhat family and Daniel Low-Beer. Photo: Roman Franc 6.9.2024
Brno, Jewish cemetery, cleaning campaign. Photo: Lucie Mojžíšová September 8, 2024
Brno, Jewish cemetery, cleaning campaign. Photo: Lucie Mojžíšová September 8, 2024
Brno, Jewish cemetery, cleaning campaign. Photo: Veronika Smyslová 8.9.2024
Brno, Jewish cemetery, cleaning campaign. Photo: Veronika Smyslová 8.9.2024

Lectures

4 April 2023: Brno, Opening of the garden

21 November 2022: Brno, High-level gathering, NEB, panel

February,4, 2021: Chicago, IIT, The Mies van der Rohe Society (zoom)


Ivo Hammer, Mental Opening. Reopening of the Garden as spatial restoration of the historical situation (Brno, April 5, 2023)

April 5, 2023 

Re-opening oft he garden

Invitation by the director of the Brno City Museum, Mag. Zbyněk Šolc

Speeches by JUDr. Markéta Vaňková, Lord Mayoress of the Statutory City of Brno; Mgr. Jan Grolich Governor of the South Moravian Region

 

Ivo Hammer

Speech at the opening of the garden of the Tugendhat House

 

Madam Lord Mayoress!

Mr Region Governor!

Mr Director!

Ladies and gentlemen!

 

My name is Ivo Hammer, I am the husband of Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, the youngest daughter of Grete and Fritz Tugendhat, the builders of the Tugendhat house.

 

I would like to thank Director Šolc for inviting me to this enjoyable event. I see the invitation as a sign of the appreciation  the Brno City Museum has for the family.

 

Ernst Tugendhat died on March 13, 2023. In the words of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank Walter Steinmeier, Ernst Tugendhat was “one of the most important philosophers of the post-war period, whose thinking revolutionized and shaped German philosophy.” On behalf of the family, I would like to thank the city of Brno and the museum for the condolences the city of Brno.

Ernst Tugendhat was the last of the Löw-Beer and Tugendhat families to live in the Löw-Beer and Tugendhat houses that belonged to this garden.

 

I would also like to take this event as an opportunity to commemorate Grete Tugendhat's father, Alfred Löw-Beer, who was murdered near Pilsen in April 1939 while fleeing from the Nazis.

 

I am happy about the opening of the fence between the two houses Löw-Beer and Tugendhat. This opening restores spatially the historical situation. It is not generally known that Alfred and Marianne Löw-Beer only gave their daughter Grete the building land and the building costs of the Tugendhat house as an anticipation of their inheritance on the occasion of her marriage to Fritz Tugendhat. The rest of the garden, including the area of the former Belvedere, remained the property of Grete's parents. Fritz Tugendhat's photos, which are published in our book, document the use of this garden, also as a playground for the children, in summer splashing around with the water sprinkler, in winter tobogganing on the slope that seems to have been made for this purpose.

 

I also like to remember the family reunion in May 2017. Within the framework of the Brno meeting, the city of Brno invited three families from the Jews who survived the Shoa, who were important for the city's cultural life before 1938: the  families Löw-Beer, Tugendhat and Stiassny. We had expected around 40-50 people, more than 120 came. The meeting of the families in the garden, in glorious weather, with the children playing and live music by Andrea and Jonas created beautiful but also ambivalent emotions.

 

The iconic photos by Rudolf de Sandalo from 1931 present the house as a solitary cube, deserted and without vegetation. The photos by Fritz Tugendhat, originating from the few years that followed that the family was able to live in their house, document the material reality of life in the house, its temporality, its aging, the vegetation and the busy landscaped garden. The photos show on the one hand the intimate connection between architecture and nature intended by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, of geometric clarity and organic liveliness, and on the other hand what Mies van der Rohe called the meaningful emptiness of the landscape garden designed by the famous Czech garden architect Grete Müller-Roder in collaboration with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and probably also Lilly Reich.

 

In the 18th century these hills above the Ponávka River were vineyards, partly interspersed with fruit trees. Apparently, in the 1920s, these vineyards were abandoned and a viewpoint called Belvedere was set up. The brick manufacturer Antonin Rüdiger Deycks bought the property in 1854, set up a greenhouse and probably also had trees planted in the park.

 

The Art Nouveau villa built in 1904 according to plans by Alexander Neumann for the manufacturer Moritz Fuhrmann also included the carriage house with an angular floor plan and also a garden with fountain, stairs, arbor and possibly also the freely undulating paths of an English park up to the Belvedere on the north Edge of Černopolní.

 

When Alfred and Marianne Löw-Beer bought the Art Nouveau villa in 1913 and moved in with their children Max (11), Grete (10) and Hans (12 years old), they probably left the garden unchanged.

 

In 1929-1930 Grete Müller-Roder took over the path system of the English Park, simplified it somewhat, introduced a kitchen garden in the area of the service wing, and along the base of the house a terracing with dry stone walls, perhaps an allusion to the historic vineyards. The floor plan of the Tugendhat house is clearly based on the axis relationship between the semi-circular dining area and the weeping willow, which was already large at the time and was Grete Tugendhat's favorite tree. Grete Müller-Roder also planned the seating area under the weeping willow, with direct access via a staircase through the terracing and a further path. A (no longer preserved) closed vegetation to the neighboring properties created the privacy of the garden space, which was understood as a meaningful emptiness, which was certainly desired by the client.

 

In this context, it is also worth remembering the excellent planning work of Přemysl Krejčiřík and his team during the recent restoration of the garden in 2010-2012.

 

I would also like to understand the opening of the garden between the two houses in a general, symbolic and social sense: as a mental opening of the gates and also as a real opening of the borders where it is necessary for cultural and humanitarian reasons.

 

Thank you for your attention.

The New European Bauhaus (NEB): beauty, sustainability and cultural heritage through the prism of Villa Tugendhat (Brno, November 21, 2022)

Brno, Tugendhat House, entrance hall. Ivo Hammer guiding participants of the NEB gathering. Photo: Zdeněk Kolařík, municipality of Brno, Nov. 21, 2022
Brno, Tugendhat House, entrance hall. Ivo Hammer guiding participants of the NEB gathering. Photo: Zdeněk Kolařík, municipality of Brno, Nov. 21, 2022
Brno, Tugendhat House, basement. High level NEB gathering, panelists: (from left) Martin Selmayr, Martina Dlabajová, Mariya Gabriel, Vlastislav Ouroda, Ivo Hammer. Photo: Zdeněk Kolařík, municipality of Brno, Nov. 21, 2022
Brno, Tugendhat House, basement. High level NEB gathering, panelists: (from left) Martin Selmayr, Martina Dlabajová, Mariya Gabriel, Vlastislav Ouroda, Ivo Hammer. Photo: Zdeněk Kolařík, municipality of Brno, Nov. 21, 2022

The New European Bauhaus (NEB): beauty, sustainability and cultural heritage through the prism of Villa Tugendhat

High-level gathering on 21 November 2022 from 14:30-18:00 in Brno, Czech Republic. Tugendhat House

Programme:

14:30 Arrival and guided tour through Villa Tugendhat (Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat and Ivo Hammer)

16:00-17:00 High-level panel discussion 

17:00-18:00 Reception

 

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a creative and interdisciplinary initiative of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. It connects the European Green Deal to our living spaces and experiences. The initiative calls on all of us to imagine and build together a sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls.

Architectural purity, interconnection of interior and exterior, timeless technical equipment, noble and exotic materials and, above all, a high level of preservation – these are the main attributes that led Villa Tugendhat to being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. Designed by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Villa Tugendhat was built in 1929–1930 as a family home for Grete and Fritz Tugendhat. Its further history is at least as fascinating as its cultural significance, since it has become Brno’s icon of modernist housing and occupies a prominent position globally and within the oeuvre of its architect.

Our gathering “The New European Bauhaus: beauty, sustainability and cultural heritage through the prism of Villa Tugendhat” will, against the backdrop of this emblematic property, explore the goals, philosophy and perspectives of the New European Bauhaus initiative, illustrating and reimagining sustainable living in Europe and beyond. (Martin Selmayr, Head of Representation of the European Commission in Austria) 

 

Ivo Hammer, REPAIR – RE – TURN / POROSITY – RE – TURN

Statement Ivo Hammer, 21.11.2022, Brno, Tugendhat House, panel

 

Ladies and gentlemen

 

I would like to thank you for the invitation to this event and to Martin Selmayr for the friendly introduction.

 

My short statement is based on the question:

What can we learn from monument preservation in general and from Haus Tugendhat in particular

What can we learn:

  • for dealing with existing buildings

and what can we learn

  • for beautiful, sustainable and inclusive new buildings?

 

First, a few comments on the materiality of the Tugendhat house:

The beauty of the house of Tugendhat is not only based on the 1930 new design. Its beauty is also based on its materiality: on the use of noble materials such as onyx marble, travertine, tropical woods, silk, parchment and polished chrome and nickel, and on the extremely precise craftsmanship of all traditional surfaces, the polished stucco lustro of the interior walls, the careful material-colored painting of the metal and wooden parts. Bright colors brought life, brought individual furniture, flowers and, yes, the residents and their clothing.

Many elements, such as the walls of the interior and the facade, are made with exceptionally careful, but still traditional craftsmanship. They can be maintained and repaired accordingly without great effort, without them being changed in an aesthetically or physically unfavorable manner. Stains on the interior walls e.g. For example, during the short period in which the Tugendhat family was able to live in their house, they were erased with bread; no painting was necessary.

The inner walls are not only beautiful, they are also pleasant for the room climate due to their hydrophilic porosity, which is permeable to water in liquid form, because no condensation can form on the surface and therefore no microorganisms either. (Allergies!)

The brick exterior walls are traditionally coated with rubbed lime plaster and painted with limewash. Unlike cement, which contributes 8% to global CO2 emissions, lime is largely CO2 neutral.

The facade of the house T. has been cared for several times with whitewash, also during the time when it was used as a dance school and as a children's hospital from 1945-1980. Significant damage only occurred after 1985, when the facade was coated with a modern paint containing synthetic resin as a binder. In 2011 we reintroduced the traditional form of periodic care with a lime wash.

 

 

Remarks on the current situation of the construction industry in terms of materials and technology.

We have been experiencing radical, dramatic changes since the 1960s. The historical tradition of periodic maintenance and repairs has been abandoned (as in other areas). The lack of care and repair leads to rapid wear and tear and the corresponding waste of resources and energy.

The use of historically proven materials has been abandoned in favor of incompatible materials that are physically, chemically and aesthetically incompatible with the historical structure and lead to serious damage to the old buildings (cement, artificial resin). Coatings that are not hydrophilic, i.e. permeable to water in liquid form, lead to accelerated weathering (drying speed reduced by a factor of 1000!) and destroy the historical surface in the long term. Thermal insulation, very often a fire hazard (Grenfell Tower in London!), is obsolete from an insurance perspective after 40 years, and technologically often in a much shorter time. Plastic windows and doors are not repairable.

 

The new buildings are based on short-term economic calculations and accelerated obsolescence. We live in concrete buildings and plasterboard walls and plastic coatings. The non-hydrophilic surfaces (in addition, mostly small and low living spaces) lead to the growth of microorganisms and promote allergies and make frequent shock ventilation necessary.

 

My thesis on dealing with old buildings

Monument preservation can be seen as a paradigmatic form of a sustainable, ecologically meaningful and aesthetically beautiful way of dealing with historical architecture,

e.g. with regard to the following categories:

  • Maintenance of the long service life through regular care and repair with materials and methods that are compatible with the historical structure and preserve the repairability, instead of cosmetic interventions with physically harmful and aesthetically disturbing materials. The technological characteristic of the historical buildings is their hydrophilic porosity.
  • Reuse of materials in reconstruction and adaptation. The recycling rate of a historical building is approx. 95%, a modern new building often only approx. 5%. (Kohler, 1996). Separability and harmless dumping of materials that can no longer be used. (Today, building rubble is hazardous waste that requires monitoring).
  • Intelligent cultural use instead of short-term economic speculation. Avoidance of energy loss (calculated over the long term) and gentle adaptation to new usage requirements. The most ecological form of building is not building.

 

My thesis on the new buildings:

The environmental policy of monument preservation is also relevant for the new building.

The architectural monuments represent approaches to solving technical, aesthetic and other cultural and social (e. g. also urbanistic) problems. The experiences of around 15,000 years (Göbekli Tepe) are stored in the monuments, which have proven their technological suitability and their cultural suitability with their mere existence. Why shouldn't we use these sources of knowledge?

 

 

Some demands for a sustainable construction industry

  • The building materials industry and materials science should focus on sustainable traditional materials such as lime, wood and clay
  • While the technical standards correspond to many building materials designed in the laboratory, they are often nonsensical for historical techniques
  • Tax law, tenancy law: old buildings are disadvantaged
  • Funding provisions: Funding should be aimed at projects that are sustainable in the long term
  • Economic research should calculate with the entire life cycle of a building, not just a part of it.
  • Educational System: Architecture, its beauty, history and sustainable repair should become part of the normal educational curriculum
  • Architectural training, craftsman training should include historical techniques, repair materials and repair techniques in their curriculum
  • In many European countries and also internationally, university courses for the preservation of historical architecture are set up only for architects. There are no courses for conservators-restorers of architectural surfaces. (except Hildesheim, Vienna, Munich)
  • Aesthetic norms: aesthetics of repair, practical value instead of novelty value

 

The projects that have won awards as part of the NEB are inspiring, but often standalone actions. They should go mainstream.

 

For a sustainable and ecologically sensible construction industry, we need

  • methodically a re-use re-turn and repair-re-turn
  • technologically a porosity re-turn (i.e. hydrophilic porosity, permeable for water in liquid form)
Brno, Tugendhat House, upper Terrace, south-east wall, archaeological window presenting the original surface of the facade. Photo Ivo Hammer 2022
Brno, Tugendhat House, upper Terrace, south-east wall, archaeological window presenting the original surface of the facade. Photo Ivo Hammer 2022

Ivo Hammer, The (male) visible and the (female) invisible. Remarks to the cooperation of Lilly Reich and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe using the example of the Tugendhat House in Brno (Virtual, February 4, 2021)

The Mies van der Rohe Society, in partnership with Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, sponsored an evening through the lens of acclaimed filmmaker, June Finfer (alumna), with footage of the Tugendhat House—considered one of the most influential homes of the 20th century—designed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. 

Lilly Reich’s award winning work with Laura Lizondo-Sevilla and Débora Domingo-Calabuig (Universitat Politècnica de València) were also discussed. 

Commenters included art historian Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat and her husband Ivo Hammer, conservator-restorer and art historian, who was working to maintain the Tugendhat House; as well as Jong Soung Kimm (ARCH ‘61, M.ARCH. ‘64), Dirk Lohan (alumnus), and contributors from Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture: Reed Kroloff, dean; Martin Felsen, director, Masters of Architecture Program; and Michelangelo Sabatino, professor. https://www.miessociety.org/events/lilly-reich-lecture

 

Mies van der Rohe Society, Chicago

Interiors: Lilly Reich and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Virtual)

Thursday, February 4, 2021

 

Speech of Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat

 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

I am delighted that this important event can take place, and I would like to thank Magaret and Dave Hensler for making this event possible and Cynthia Vranas and her team, who worked tirelessly to make it happen.
I will not talk about the significance of Lilly Reich and her importance for the Tugendhat House – I leave this to the experts. 

But I would like to point to a more general issue: The invisibility of Lilly Reichs contribution on the Tugendhat House is by no means an individual problem between Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. It is a structural problem of patriarchal gender inequality. Women were – and often still are – not meant to be artists, for sure not architects, this godlike profession of male ingenuity. Other great woman architects of the 20th century shared the same fate: think for example of Margarete Schuette- Lihotzky or Eileen Gray. Woman painters of the last centuries highly estimated in their own time like Sofonisba Anguissola at the end of the 16th or Artemisa Gentileschi or Judith Leyster of the 17th century, have been wiped out of the cultural memory by art history. By centuries we internalized these mental structures, so even now in the 21 century we find it hard to accept artistic equality between male and woman artists. I do hope that after this little but important conference nobody will speak of the Tugendhat House by Mies van der Rohe – but the Tugendhat Hosue by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. 

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Ivo Hammer, The (male) visible and the (female) invisible. Remarks to the cooperation of Lilly Reich and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe using the example of the Tugendhat House in Brno (2021)
Since 2001, the Tugendhat House is part of the World Heritage of Humanity. Its artistic authors are both, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. Even if in further research it should be difficult and perhaps even impossible to determine the contributions of Lilly Reich and MvdR in detail, one can say that two congenial personalities have worked together here, both of whom have brought their specific abilities to the joint work. Using the example of Tugendhat and the collaboration between Lilly Reich and LMvdR, we saw that interior design cannot be separated from the design of space. We also saw the importance of materiality for the artistic appearance of the space.
Vortrag_Ivo LR_MvdR.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Dokument 112.0 KB
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Ivo Hammer, The (male) visible and the (female) invisible. Remarks to the cooperation of Lilly Reich and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe using the example of the Tugendhat House in Brno (presentation) (2021)
Präsentation_Ivo LR_LMvdR.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Dokument 4.7 MB

CIC

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THICOM

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Materiality

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