Centre of Dialogue – Rescue and Rehabilitation of Arnold Villa

About this project

<p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Arnold Villa (AV) is a cultural heritage building located in the oldest Brno residential housing neighbourhood. It is located in close proximity to Villa Tugendhat (VT), the most sought-after tourist attraction of Brno. The villa of Josef Arnold, a renowned Brno builder, was the second building on the slope above the Lužánky park; it was built in 1862 after his own design and subsequently adapted by its next owner C. Hože in Art Deco style. Although the building has preserved its authentic character and a number of original features to this day, the National Heritage Institute keeps it on the List of Endangered Cultural Heritage Buildings in the CZ due to its state of disrepair. </strong></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The objective of the project is the rescue and comprehensive heritage conservation of AV; its revitalization will be carried out with regard to its architectural and historical value, the original floorplan and volume design and its new functional use. After the renovation, the Brno City Museum will adapt the building for cultural and educational community purposes. In the attic, there will be a permanent exhibition on the history of AV, the personality of builder J. Arnold and the first residential housing neighbourhood in Brno. Other multifunctional rooms in the villa will serve social activities of the general public. The villa will provide facilities for the Study and Documentation Centre of the VT&nbsp;and other institutions, including the Project partners. AV villa will become part of the international project Iconic Houses Network, bringing together historically important houses accessible to the public (house museums). Museum has long been cooperating on various projects with the National Museum in Norway and with the City of Prague Museum within the Iconic Houses Network. Norwegian partner will consult the methodology of the Arnold Villa restoration and current approaches to the public presentation of history of architecture in houses whose original function was residential.</span></span></p>

Bilateral cooperation results

Bilateral cooperation with the NMA, the main partner of the project, was crucial for the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo team in the restoration of the Arnold Villa. The exchange took place during the inspection trips of the Norwegian experts to Brno and the study trip of the Czech team to Norway. The focus was on restoration methodologies, modern approaches to the use of historic villas and innovative heritage presentation techniques. During the project, Norwegian and Czech experts shared their experience in heritage restoration and education, which contributed to improving the methodologies and professional competences of the Czech team. The partnership has brought shared results in the preservation of architectural heritage, strengthened ties and opened the way for lasting cooperation, thus enhancing the prestige of the project. Another ongoing collaboration between both bilateral partners is focused on educational programs in the field of architecture. This has been supported, among others, by the Fund for Bilateral Relations at the programme level of the Culture Programme (EEA Funds 2014-2021) in 2024.

Project partners

• National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design Donor project partner· Norway
• Czech National Comitee of ICOM Project partner· Czechia
• The Brno House of Arts, (project Brno Architecture Manual) Project partner· Czechia
• Josef Arnold Culture Centre Project partner· Czechia
• Meeting Brno Project partner· Czechia
• The City of Prague Museum Project partner· Czechia