Can architecture be both strict and sensual?

In this episode of An Architect’s Perspective, I’m joined by architect and designer Eva

Jiřičná to revisit Villa Tugendhat, Mies van der Rohe’s 1930 masterwork in Brno. We

explore how the house’s radical openness, material refinement, and structural precision

helped shape the language of early modernism - and how its influence continues to ripple

through contemporary architecture.

Eva reflects on her visits to the house, her Czech roots, and what Mies’s architecture taught

her about space, clarity, and light. This is a conversation about discipline, elegance, and the

quiet ambition of one of modernism’s most iconic homes.

Key Topics:

- Mies van der Rohe’s revolutionary use of glass and steel

- Spatial clarity as a form of elegance

- The ethics of early modernism — simplicity as principle

- How Villa Tugendhat influenced Eva Jiřičná’s own design philosophy

- Restoration, memory, and the architectural legacy of modernism

Guest Info:

Eva Jiřičná is a Czech-born architect and designer known for her precision, use of glass

and steel, and elegant spatial compositions. She has worked across Europe and is

internationally recognised for her commercial and residential projects.

Quotes from the Episode:

On early modernism:

"It wasn’t about aesthetics. It was about how people could live — with honesty, with clarity,

with light."

On Mies’s restraint:

"To use marble, steel, and glass — but with such discipline. That’s where the beauty lies."

On architectural legacy:

"The house doesn’t shout. It speaks quietly, with conviction. That’s the kind of modernism I

believe in."

Website: www.jameshamiltonarchitects.com

Instagram: @jameshamiltonarchitects

Production: OneFinePlay.com