The structure of the Tugendhat villa was compromised by water from the sewer

Brno - One of the causes of the static faults in the garden terrace of the Brno functionalist villa Tugendhat, which is the only domestic building of modern art inscribed on the UNESCO list, was rainwater and sewage leaking from the sewer system. Its emergency state, which experts had long anticipated, was confirmed by a probe between the inspection shafts. Reconstruction work is just beginning, and it is already clear that it was high time to start the repairs of the villa, stated Mayor Roman Onderka in a press release.
    The heritage restoration of the Tugendhat villa began in February and will cost about 156 million crowns. According to estimates, it will take two years, during which it will be closed to the public.
    Construction workers have so far uncovered a section of the horizontal sewer outside the building by the garden terrace and the original cast-iron vertical sewage and rainwater system. Experts also conducted camera tests proving its passability.
    The poor condition of the sewage system was anticipated by experts, but the villa's renovation also brought unexpected discoveries. On the third floor, construction workers found the original floor made of so-called Sorel cement beneath the PVC, a material patented as early as 1927. A professional international commission will decide whether to use it again in the floor repairs.
    Another discovery was made by archaeologists in the garden, where they found dozens of fragments of the original window glazing in the soil. According to them, new window panes measuring two by three meters will be produced. They will probably be imported from the Netherlands, as no company in the Czech Republic is capable of manufacturing them.

photo: David Židlický (www.tugendhat.eu/cz/prubeh-pamatkove-obnovy)