Czechs restore architect Mies van der Rohe’s masterpiece
BRNO, Czech Republic, Feb 29 (Reuters) – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat in the Czech city of Brno has been restored to its original splendor ahead of a public re-opening of the masterpiece of modern architecture, whose turbulent history mirrors that of 20th century Europe.
One of the pioneers of modern architecture, German-born Mies van der Rohe completed the three-story house in 1930 for Fritz and Grete Tugendhat, wealthy Jewish industrialists who gave him free rein over the design and construction of the villa in Brno, 130 miles (209 kms) from Prague.
The result was a revolutionary flat-roofed villa containing an iron framework, that allowed him to dispense with supporting walls, and enveloped by glass windows that helped to create a flowing interior swimming in space and light.
Perched on a slope with a view over the gardens of Brno Castle, it also features a thick onyx interior wall that changes colour in winter months when hit by the sun at certain angles.
“The building is timeless and has its own atmosphere,” Michal Malasek, who oversaw the reconstruction, said on Wednesday at a Brno ceremony attended by one of the Tugendhat’s children.
The City of Brno now owns the villa whose restoration was overseen by an international team of experts at a cost of some $9 million. It reopens to the public on March 6.
INSPIRATION
Celebrating in the cold
By Petr Josek
It is the first week of February and all of Europe is squeezed in a deep cold. Everybody is tired from freezing temperatures and the forecast for upcoming days is not good. The photo wire is full of suffering homeless people, steaming chimneys, frozen water and so on.
Thinking of how to illustrate this winter differently I remembered that the traditional Shrove festival was taking place around this time. That Shrove site I decided to take pictures of is known for its Shrovetide masks and cultural traditions listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
I came to the Czech village of Vesely Kopec early morning as temperatures were lower then 23 degrees Centigrade. Revellers accompanied by music started to parade, dance and sing through the village dressed in light costumes with white gloves on their hands. Trumpeters had to often stop their music due to their frozen instruments. And everybody needed a warming up drink.
Race into the cold
By Petr Josek
Mountains, snow, wind, cold, sun, dogs, sleds and mushers. Those are elements you meet in various combinations when you go to cover the Sedivackuv long dog sled race in the Czech Republic’s Orlicke mountains. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve been covering the race since 2005 and I always look forward it. You need to get well dressed for that, we call it double-full-full. I remember temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) with strong winds.
There is always the obvious problem of how to cover the same event differently every year, especially as we don’t have giant mountains with high summits and there’s not always bright sun. But I think that nice pictures showing the event and describing its atmosphere can’t hurt once a year.
You go to the start line and take some pictures of excited dogs. They already know what’s going on, what is ahead of them. They bark as they rush up the hill and disappear in the horizon to face the next stage which over four days counts more than 240 kilometers (149 miles).
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