Hrušovany u Brna want to repair the forgotten villa designed by Loose for 100 million CZK

Hrušovany near Brno - Hrušovany near Brno plans to transform the villa of Viktor Bauer, built between 1913 and 1914 according to the design of architect Adolf Loos, into a cultural center. The forgotten villa, which fell into disrepair until 2020, is the oldest flat-roofed house in the Czech Republic. The total renovation will cost 100 million Czech crowns, and project documentation is currently being created, said the Deputy Mayor of Hrušovany, Dušan Knoflíček (Mladá změna with the support of STAN).

The city purchased the villa for 14.4 million Czech crowns from a private owner in 2020 after years of neglect. "The building leaked a lot at the time, and it was necessary to at least temporarily repair the roof and ensure the truss statically. We also restored the garden," Knoflíček stated.

The villa, which Loos designed for the director of the Hrušovany sugar factory, underwent a series of devastating reconstructions from the 1960s to the 1980s that significantly altered the internal layout of the building. "Besides the raised ground floor, the original layouts throughout the house are completely destroyed, with only isolated elements of the original furnishings preserved. However, it is possible to restore the original external appearance of the villa. Up to 70 percent of the windows are not original; we have enough information to produce copies of the original windows," added the Deputy Mayor. After reconstruction, a cultural center is expected to be established in the villa, with an exhibition dedicated to Adolf Loos planned for the raised ground floor, while the upper floor is intended to commemorate the story of the Bauer family.

The city received a grant of three million Czech crowns from the South Moravian Region for project documentation, on which experts are currently working. The renovation should take place gradually. "The repair of the truss and roof is absolutely crucial and should begin next year. We might manage this from the city budget, but the whole reconstruction would not be sustainable for us as a city," Knoflíček stated.

The first step will be to complete the project documentation and obtain a building permit. After that, the city will begin seeking suitable grant titles. It will also strive for inclusion in the Ministry of Culture's architectural heritage rescue program. Hrušovany has already initiated a public fundraising campaign for the renovation of the villa. "Anyone can contribute to it, but we would like to reach out to philanthropists and companies from Hrušovany and surrounding areas. We are trying to raise awareness among locals about this extraordinary building; every year in May we organize an event called Loosovka comes alive, during which theater and film performances, workshops, lectures, and tastings of wine or coffee take place in the villa and garden," the Deputy Mayor indicated.

The villa was intended to serve as the residence of the director of the neighboring sugar factory as well as the headquarters of the company. Viktor Bauer approached architect Adolf Loos, and the villa was completed in 1914. After 1948, the communists nationalized the family's property; the national enterprise Svit operated at the sugar factory, and the villa partially served as medical offices, while the second floor was divided into two apartments. Since the 1990s, the villa has deteriorated, similar to the surrounding land, and since 2020, it has been owned by the city.