The Tugendhat House: Between Craftmanship and Technological Innovation. Preservation as Sustainable Building Policy

Abstract

The architecture of the Modern Movement is today often seen as synonymous with technical innovation and experimental techniques. This view is supported by the Dessau Bauhaus itself and its programmatic “break” with tradition. Technical inadequacies and shortcomings, particularly from the perspective of today’s energy standards, serve as an argument to formulate criteria specific for preserving the architecture of the Modern Movement, different from “normal” and more generally accepted preservation principles. Are the materials and techniques of modern architecture really as innovative as they are alleged? The Tugendhat House in Brno, listed as an UNESCO World Heritage since 2001, and other structures of classical modernism, as for example, the Bauhaus in Dessau (1925–26) and the pavilions of the Brno fair grounds (1926–28), may serve as evidence that not everything was technical innovation, but that rather the traditional craft techniques in the Modern Movement have played a major role. Modern preservation is not limited to the presentation of the artistic idea, but sees the monument as a comprehensive resource of cultural activities and their material expression. Generally, the preservation of monuments can be seen as a paradigmatic form of a sustainable building policy.