Events May 2023

Villa Müller, Adolf Loos, Prague, 1930
Hugo Semler apartment, Adolf Loos, 1931–1933, Pilsen, Czech Republic. Photo: Petr Polak, Pilsen Tourism.
Villa Volman, Karel Janu and Jiří Štursa, Čelákovice (30 km outside of Prague), 1939
Villa Stiassni, Ernst Wiesner, Brno, 1929
Plečnik House, Jože Plečnik, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1929
Further Afield Conference & Tours

Icons of Czech Avantgarde: Authenticity & Style Diversity

May 22, 2023

The 7th International Iconic Houses Conference will take place in the Czech Republic May 22–26, 2023.

In the Czech Republic, the Iconic Houses Network has no fewer than eleven modern house museum members. Adolf Loos was an important European pioneer of modern architecture and Villa Müller in Prague is the highlight of his work and the centerpiece of the Prague program, followed by a day trip to Pilsen to visit more recently discovered and restored Loos interiors. Villa Tugendhat in Brno, the masterpiece designed by celebrated German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and inscribed by Unesco on the World Heritage List since 2001, is the radiant center of the Brno program. Immerse yourself with two keynote addresses by leading expert on Czech architecture, professor Vladimír Šlapeta and Adolf Loos specialist professor Burkhardt Rukschcio, plus 16 short presentations about a variety of house museums by the museum professionals who manage them—masterpieces as well as hidden gems.

Taken together, the two keynote lectures and the short talks along with visits to 16 iconic houses offer a wonderful insight into the 20th-century development of the Czech house and the evolution from traditional vernacular architecture to the modernism of the International Style.

For individual members and donors of Iconic Houses there is an exclusive post-conference field trip via Vienna to Ljubljana in Slovenia for an extensive introduction to the work of Jože Plečnik, ending in Venice where participants can visit the Architecture Biennale on their own initiative.

22–26 May: Prague, Pilsen & Brno (open to all).
27–30 May: Post-Conference Field Trip Vienna & Ljubljana, open to Iconic Houses members and donors only.

Registration and full program can be found on the conference website.

Iconic Houses Foundation has organized the conference in partnership with Villa Müller in Prague, Villa Tugendhat in Brno and Pilsen Tourism in Czech Republic.

About the Iconic Houses Network
ICONIC HOUSES is the international network connecting around 180 architecturally significant houses and artists’ homes and studios from the 20th century that are open to the public as house museums. The platform also focuses on advocacy, conservation, management, and cooperation. Executive Director and Founder is architectural historian Natascha Drabbe, based in The Netherlands. The International Advisory Board consists of house museum directors Iveta Černá (Villa Tugendhat), Justin Gunther (Director of Fallingwater), Anne Rowe (Heritage Director at Sunnylands Center & Gardens) and Katya Degrieck (Maison Lenglet). Explore these iconic residential masterpieces around the world at www.iconichouses.org.