The council selected a company that will choose a restorer for the Tugendhat villa

Brno - The councilors of Brno today selected a law firm that will prepare a tender for the heritage restoration of the Tugendhat Villa for the city. The contract has been awarded to the Brno law firm MT Legal. The Deputy Mayor Ladislav Macek told ČTK today that the firm will prepare the text of the tender conditions for the construction supplier by the end of March. The city will order not only construction work but also the project from them. Thus, they will have the heritage restoration done "turnkey," said Macek.
    The city hall is not conducting the tender for the restoration of the listed villa itself because, according to Macek, the competition will be monitored by companies and experts. It can be expected that unsuccessful applicants may appeal. Therefore, the city hall does not want to make the slightest error in the tender process and will have the competition conditions, including deadlines, suggested by a firm that specializes in organizing public contracts. The MT Legal office, whose services will cost 236,000 crowns, is also being contracted for legal advice, said the deputy.
    The Brno city hall cannot afford any further delays in the heritage restoration of the villa, which is the only Czech structure of modern art listed on the UNESCO list. Regional heritage specialists are already examining whether the repeated postponement of repairs is causing irreversible damage to the heritage site. The heritage specialists have commissioned expert assessments for evaluation. They are currently analyzing them and have also requested a statement from the National Heritage Institute, said Macek.
    According to the deputy, it is only a matter of time before a letter with a decision comes from the heritage specialists to the city hall, instructing the council to urgently repair certain specific parts of the villa. This concerns, for example, the heating, roof, sewage system, or structural integrity. If a decision were to come, the city would probably have to urgently order specific work from companies, according to Macek. The various parts of the heritage restoration of the villa are interconnected, and doing them simultaneously is more advantageous and efficient.
    Brno has been managing the functionalist Tugendhat Villa since the mid-1990s, and its heritage restoration has been planned for eight years. The city committed to it when the villa was added to the UNESCO list. However, restoration and construction work has not yet begun due to disputes among the participants in the competition for the designer. The contentious competition, which has been addressed by courts and the antitrust office several times, was ultimately canceled by the council last year. They now want a turnkey contractor that will ensure the project as well as restoration and construction work.
    The delay in repairs two years ago sparked a response from the descendants of the original owners, who applied for the return of the villa. The councilors rejected this.