An exhibition from Brno in the Czech Republic, focusing on Villa Tugendhat, Mies van der Rohe’s masterpiece of domestic architectural design and construction, runs at Merrion Square’s Irish Architectural Archive (IAA) until early April.
Anyone taking a stroll along Dublin’s Lower Baggot Street, on the section that lies between Lower Fitzwilliam Street and McCartney Bridge at the Grand Canal, cannot help but notice a group of three modernist buildings embracing an open plaza set back from the long terrace of Georgian buildings that distinguish this part of Dublin.
Sitting in a plot that is bounded on the north east by James’ Place, on the north west by East James’ Street, and on the south east by Herbert Street, the three office blocks make up what is now known as Miesian Plaza, an important architectural development that was originally created in the late 1960s to house the headquarters of the Bank of Ireland.
The development came at a period in our history when the Irish cultural landscape was widening and opening outwards, and followed on from the establishing in 1963 of the Irish Design Centre in Kilkenny, the presentation of international art at the ROSC exhibition in 1967 and the introduction in 1969, by the then Minister for Finance Charles Haughey, of the Creative Artists’ Exemption tax legislation. The country’s confidence was also growing as a consequence of the negotiations that led Ireland to becoming a member of the European Economic Community (EEC), which it did on the 1st January 1973.
At the time of their construction, which spanned a ten year period from 1968 to 1978, the Bank of Ireland HQ buildings were seen by some conservative commentators as a violent interjection on the street and as being destructive of the previously unified Georgian streetscape. Others welcomed the development as a forward-looking move away from the Georgian and Victorian architectural orders that had labelled Dublin as the second city of the Empire. Along with other contemporary developments by the likes of the architect Sam Stephenson, the HQ complex was seen as ushering in a more self-confident era in the independent Irish State’s cultural and economic growth.
This radically modern development was designed, in what is known as the International Style, by the architect Ronnie Tallon for Scott Tallon Walker Architects, and was inspired by the work of the internationally-renowned architect Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969). As well as on the Miesian Plaza site, van der Rohe’s influences are evident in such Irish buildings as Dublin’s Áras Mhic Dhiarmada/Busáras, the Carroll’s Factory in Dundalk, and the RTÉ TV and Radio Campus at Montrose near Donnybrook.
The Lower Baggott Street development was constructed by G&T Crampton and was inspired by van der Rohe’s 1958 Seagram Building on New York’s Park Avenue. Robin Walker, one of the architectural partnership’s members, had studied under and taught with van der Rohe and would have had first-hand knowledge of the design aesthetics and the construction techniques required to make a large but visually restrained intervention into a site of an otherwise older and increasingly shabbier character. By the time of its competition, the whole development cost a total of £4.6 million Irish punts, and was the most expensive office development built in Ireland at the time. The elegant facades of the buildings contained so much Delta manganese bronze that it drove up the world price of the metal during the construction phase.
The three buildings were designed to accommodate up to 2,000 Bank of Ireland back-office staff and functioned efficiently up until 2005, at which time a major review of staffing levels was undertaken, resulting in a relocating or a letting-go of many employees. The Bank of Ireland sold the property in 2006 and in 2007 Dublin City Council added the buildings to its list of protected structures, which preserved for the future the facades of the three blocks, as well as the open plaza in the front.
In 2008, following widespread opposition from members of the cultural community, including the painters Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Scott and Sean Scully, as well as the poet Seamus Heaney, plans by the new owners for a radical overhaul of the entire site was refused by Dublin City Council. Seamus Heaney described the HQ complex as “one of Dublin’s finest 20th century buildings.” In explaining the Council’s decision to refuse permission, the Planning Officer stated that “The Bank of Ireland complex is a protected structure as it is one of the most important modernist buildings in Ireland. It is considered that the proposed development (will) have a significant undesirable impact on the integrity and character of the complex.”
In 2012 the site was sold again and, following renovations overseen by Scott Tallon Walker, as carried out by John Paul Construction, it was officially named as Miesian Plaza.
To contextualise the relevance of this important modernist development for Dublin, an exhibition that focuses on Mies van der Rohe’s world-renowned masterpiece of domestic design and construction can be seen at the Irish Architectural Archive on Merrion Square. Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czechia, was designed by van der Rohe for Greta and Fritz Tugendhat in 1929–1930. Its history is at least as fascinating as its cultural significance.
Today, the Villa Tugendhat is considered the most important of van der Rohe’s pre-war work and his most authentic surviving building in Europe. It is a unique work of art in terms of design, layout, interior equipment, technical facilities and integration into the natural environment. For the first time in the history of architecture, a steel bearing structure was used in a private house. The technical facilities of the villa were also quite exceptional for their time – air heating and cooling, and electric retractable windows.
As well as its exterior, the architect designed the interior of the house. Rare and exotic materials were used throughout. Onyx was brought from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, and travertine from Italy. Exclusive exotic woods came from Southeast Asia (rosewood, zebrawood, macassar and ebony). In collaboration with the designer Lilly Reich, van der Rohe also worked on the Villa’s furniture, carpet and textile design. The tubular and strip steel chairs (Tugendhat, Barcelona, Brno and MR 20 types), samples of which are included in the exhibition, now belong among the design icons of the 20th century.
During the years 2010 to 2012, the building and garden underwent thorough restoration and renovation, which brought it back to its original 1930 appearance. Since March 2012, the villa has been open to the public as a monument of modern architecture. Architectural purity, interconnection of interior and exterior, timeless technical equipment, noble and exotic materials and, above all, a high level of preservation are the main attributes that led to Villa Tugendhat being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.
The exhibition in the IAA traces the history of the villa from its inception to the present day. Large-format photographs and accompanying text introduce visitors to the atmosphere of the Villa Tugendhat using details of the design, furniture, materials and well-known iconic parts of the house, such as the chrome column cladding in the interior or the vista through the broad windows into the villa garden.
Words: Kieran Owens
Images: (c) David Zidlicky
In association with the Irish Architectural Archive, the Villa Tugendhat exhibition is presented by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ireland and the Villa Tugendhat in Brno. It runs from Thursday 22nd January to Friday 10th April 2026, Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, in the First Floor Rooms in the Irish Architectural Archive at 45 Merrion Square, Dublin D02 VY60.
A one-day symposium on the Villa Tugendhat and the influence on Irish architectural practice by the works of Mies van der Rohe takes place in the Archive on Friday 23rd January 2026. The programme is as follows:
9.30am: Registration/coffee/tea/welcome
10.00am: Iveta Černá (Director of Villa Tugendhat) on the architecture and conservation of the Villa
10.40am: Jan Frohburg (Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and Product Design, University of Limerick) on Mies van der Rohe’s architecture
11.20am: Shane O’Toole (Irish architect and critic) on Mies van der Rohe and Ireland
11.40am: Coffee/Tea
12.00pm: Petr Svoboda (Czech National Heritage Institute) on 20th Century conservation issues in Czechia
12.40pm: Gemma Hayes (architect with the OPW) on conservation of Michael Scott’s Miesian-inspired Áras Mhic Dhiarmada/Busáras, Dublin
Full details for registering can be had by contacting the Irish Architectural Archive by email at info@irisharchitecturalarchive.ie or by phone on (01) 663 3040.
