Updated 9 May 2023

7th International Iconic Houses Conference

Icons of Czech Avantgarde: Authenticity & Style Diversity

The Iconic Houses Foundation is proud to present its 7th International Conference from 22-26 May 2023 under the auspices of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Czech Republic, in partnership with Villa Müller in Prague, Villa Tugendhat in Brno and Pilsen Turismus.

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

LECTURE PROGRAM TICKETS AVAILABLE
in Iconic Houses WEBSHOP
Conference + Tour Program is Sold Out!
The daily schedule and all details on speakers can be found on the CONFERENCE WEBSITE.

In the Czech Republic, the Iconic Houses Network has no fewer than twelve wonderful 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 our 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 and 16 short presentations about a variety of house museums, masterpieces as well as hidden gems, that are ready to welcome you!

Taken together, the two keynote lectures by Professor Vladimír Šlapeta and Adolf Loos expert Professor Burkhardt Rukschcio and 16 short talks by the museum professionals who manage the house museums that are included in the tours, 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.

In addition, you’ll also visit the houses and studios of important Czech artists, such as František Bílek and Otto Rothmayer. We even visit Villa Winternitz, which was realized according to the concept of Adolf Loos by his student and collaborator Karel Lhota and that can be rented for an overnight stay. Come join us and discover the Iconic Houses of the Czech Republic!

We look forward to meeting you -again- in person in May 2023!

Visit the exhibition here > Icons of Czech Avantgarde
An exhibition with 18 iconic houses in the Czech Republic is now on display at the Norbertov Study and Documentation Centre at Villa Müller in Prague, curated by Conference Co-Chair, Maria Szadkowska, Head of the Center for Monuments of Modern Architecture and Chief Curator The City of Prague Museum. Graphic design by Markéta Othová.

Tour Program: 22 + 23 May 2023 - Prague

Villa Müller, Adolf Loos, Prague, 1930
Villa Rothmayer, Otto Rothmayer, Prague, 1929
Museum of Tower Blocks, Josef Havlíček, Kladno, 1956
One Family House, František Marek, Václav Hilský, Richard Podzemný and Antonín Tenzer, Lidice, early 1950s
Adolf Loos Apartment & Gallery, Adolf Loos, Prague, 1929
Villa Bílek, František Bílek, Prague, 1911
Villa Winternitz, Adolf Loos and Karel Lhota, Prague, 1932

24 May 2023 - Field Trip Adolf Loos Interiors Pilsen

Brummel House, Adolf Loos, Pilsen, 1929
Apartment of the Kraus Family, Adolf Loos, Pilsen, 1931
Semler Residence, Heinrich Kulka, Pilsen, 1934
Apartment of Dr. Vogl Family, Adolf Loos, Pilsen, 1928
Hugo Semler’s Apartment, Adolf Loos, Pilsen, 1932

25 + 26 May 2023 - Field Trip Brno

25 May on the way to Brno:

Vila Volman, Karel Janu and Jiří Štursa, Čelákovice (30 km outside of Prague), 1939

26 May in Brno:

Jurkovič House, Dusan Jurkovič, Brno, 1906
Villa Tugendhat, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Brno, 1930
Villa Stiassni, Ernst Wiesner, Brno, 1929

27 May 2023 - Post-Conference Field Trip Vienna

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s former Apartment, Vienna, Austria, 1970
Villa Beer, Josef Frank, Vienna, Austria, 1931
Gerrit Rietveld designed row house in Werkbund Housing Estate, Vienna, Austria, 1931
Haus Loos in Werkbund Housing Estate, Vienna, Austria, 1931 (TBC)
Joseph Hoffmann designed house, yet to be restored, in Werkbund Housing Estate, Vienna, Austria, 1931 (© Adsy Bernhart)
Villa Rezek, Hans Glas, Vienna, Austria, 1932-33 (© Stefan Olah)

28 May 2023 - Travel from Vienna to Ljubljana

Haus Dellacher, Raimund Abraham, Oberwart, Austria, 1969
Domenig Steinhaus, Günther Domenig, Steindorf, Austria, 1982-2008

29 + 30 May 2023 - Plečnik Program Ljubljana

Plečnik House, Jože Plečnik, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1929

This video gives a good impression of Plečnik's Ljubljana that we're going to visit. Click on the YouTube sign below to watch it with English subtitles.