Mies van der Rohe’s Famous Tugendhat House in Trouble

"The house embodies some of Mies’s most influential ideas, which went on to become hallmarks of Modernism: free-flowing, open living space; a connection to the outside through transparent walls; the use of a grid of columns instead of load-bearing walls. It was also a project for which Mies designed every detail, from the doorknobs and light fixtures to the Tugendhat and Brno chairs, now classics of 20th-century design produced and sold by Knoll."

"The house’s condition has sparked a battle over who will control its future and ensure its survival: the city of Brno, which now owns it, or the heirs of the original owners, Jews who fled Czechoslovakia in 1938. The city says it recognizes the family’s moral right to the home, and the family says it wants to keep it open for the people of the city, but neither side seems to trust the other’s ability to manage the restoration work and maintenance that will be necessary."