Restoration

In restoring the Müller Villa itself, parts of its exterior and components in the immediate environs, the project took as its central focus structural consolidation and the conservation of original materials; in this, to some extent (on the basis of the exact evaluation of expert investigation) it was necessary in specific cases to consider interventions that were more reconstruction than restoration (e.g. the reconstruction of the facing plaster layers of the facades, the replacement of parts of the masonry fence underpinning, the renovation of parts of the damp-proofing and the upper deck of the cast asphalt terrace etc.). The application of those criteria, characteristic of architectural restoration methods, meant in this case an effort to protect and, through restoration, attend even to those structural products and materials that in other cases might be regarded as commonplace, and thus replaceable by equivalent materials (e.g. the cladding of standard white tiles in the bathrooms). Likewise, the intention was also to restore the period joinery that forms part of the building (windows, doors, floors, railings etc.) as well as the collection of fitted furniture and facings – with veneered or lacquered surfaces.

In its closing phases, the rehabilitation of the Müller Villa comprised the installation of furniture, carpets and objets d'art in the interior. Several lost pieces of the inventory, important from the point of view of the architect's overall conception, were reconstructed from available archive photographs and drawings. The interior is conceived as a copy of its appearance immediately after the completion of building work in 1930, when the presence and creative influence of Adolf Loos himself may be assumed; the interior fittings from this period are at the same time those documented by the original plans, period photographs and the testimony of a series of important visitors.

In May 2000 the renovated and restored Müller Villa was opened to the public with an exhibition based predominantly on the original historical furniture and artworks, complemented by the new Study & Documentation Center. The house has thus become a monument of worldwide importance to the architects, Adolf Loos and his colleagues, but also to the builder of the villa, Ing.Dr. František Müller. It is without a doubt the foremost contribution made by the City of Prague to the global public during Prague's year as European City of Culture 2000.