Plants and flowers played complex roles in the home that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed for the Tugendhat family in Brno. Focusing on the extensive conservatory that was positioned at the east side of the building, and the vases of fresh flowers that Mrs. Tugendhat ensured were always present in many of the spaces, this lecture will look at the way in which plants and flowers were used within this pioneering open-plan and highly documented Modernist interior.
A survey of the house will demonstrate the ways in which the plants and flowers worked with the furniture and furnishings, with the colour and texture schemes, and in relation to the nature on the terraces and in the garden. It will interrogate the way in which Mies worked with Lilly Reich and the Tugendhat family in the creation of this landmark interior.
About the speaker
Penny Sparke is Professor of Design History and Director of the Modern Interiors Research Centre (MIRC) at Kingston University, London. Among other appointments, she has served as Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design & Music, and as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), at Kingston University.
Her most important publications include An Introduction to Design and Culture, 1900 to the present (1986 and 2004); Design in Context (1987); Electrical Appliances (1988); Italian Design from 1860 to the present (1989); The Plastics Age (1990); As Long as It’s Pink: The Sexual Politics of Taste (1995); Elsie de Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration (2005); and The Modern Interior (2008).
She is currently working on a book about plants and flowers in interiors.