Reconstruction of the Münz Villa

The intention of the restoration design of the Münz villa was not to preserve the state from the time of its completion in 1928, but to create a situation that would have occurred if the continuity of family living had been maintained throughout its existence.
Over the years, the house was almost completely rebuilt and lost most of its authentic elements and its entire interior. At the beginning of the reconstruction in 2012, it also became evident that the existing structure was in a state of emergency from a static point of view. For this reason, the decision was made to remove the unstable structures of the upper floors, reinforce the missing foundations, and build a replica of the house. The construction work was carried out with an effort for maximum compliance with the original house. In this sense, it was possible to compare the new state with the original execution project from 1925 and with preserved photographs from before the Second World War. It was natural to preserve all authentic elements, but only a few remained. Among the most important was one original window from the music room, the steel window structure of the winter garden, a vertical strip steel window on the staircase, wooden garage doors, and the entrance door of the side entrance. All these elements were carefully restored and installed in the new building in their original place. For the construction elements that did not survive in the building or in the drawings and photographs, analogies were sought in other Wiesner buildings from approximately the same period. The sources of inspiration for many details were primarily the Stein, Stiassni, Neumark, and Haas villas. Solutions for doors, windows, railings, floors, built-in wardrobes, grills, and many other details were derived from these villas. The aim was a functional restoration of the same spaces in the original proportions, particularly the dining room, reception lounge, study, and music salon.
A more challenging task was the design of built-in furniture firmly connected to the structure. Here, it was no longer possible to rely on any preserved prototype in the design. Moreover, the Münz villa was one of Wiesner's first purist buildings, which still had many decorative remnants from earlier styles. It is very likely that Wiesner's design and execution were relatively austere in the extent of built-in furniture and cladding. The new solution sought inspiration more from the materially rich interiors of Adolf Loos than directly from Wiesner in this area. In the designs of the built-in furnishings, the aim was primarily to evoke the time of the building's creation. However, to avoid worthless copies, contemporaneous craftsmanship and material solutions were rigorously preserved. The main living floor is representative, like in other villas, realized with the intention to maximally capture its original appearance; in the lower and upper floors, the effort to approach the original character of the house weakens. Freestanding furniture was combined from refurbished originals from the 1920s and 1930s and from contemporary productions of leading global furniture companies and designers. Similarly, the collection of artworks that enhance the interior is also temporally composed.