Zahrada vlastní vily Dušana Jurkoviče v Brně-Žabovřeskách

Zprávy památkové péče 2013, 73(4):289-295

Garden of Dušan Jurkovič's own villa in Brno-Žabovřesky

Martina Lehmannová, Robert Václavík, Petr Všetečka

The villa belonging to the architect Dušan Jurkovič (1868-1947), built in 1905-1906, is one of the most important buildings in Brno to be built at the beginning of the 20th century. It was built in the spirit of modernism and combines elements of Viennese and British architecture, supplemented with elements of folk art. The villa was not built as an isolated building. Jurkovič always considered the wider context in his creations and was able to respond to the character of the surrounding landscape in a very sensitive way. He continued on the contemporary reflections of the form of modern living in gardens on the outskirts of cities and designed an entire villa colony. He took inspiration from the complexes in the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt from Joself Marie Olbrich and Hohe Warte in Vienna from Josef Hoffman to prepare an urban project of an artistic villa colony in Žabovřesky near Brno designed for local artists from the Friends of Art Club. Unfortunately, he managed to realize only two buildings.
In August of 1906, before he moved into the villa himself, Jurkovič opened the exhibition "Dušan Jurkovič. Exhibition of architecture and applied arts" in the building. The villa was presented to the public as a model of modern living. The realization of the garden can also be considered model, even though at the opening of the exhibition only the material composition had been completed, and the grassed property had been enlivened by topiars in flowerpots. The design implemented after the family had moved in reflected the contemporary theory of British garden architects like Mackay Hugh Baillie-Scott, Reginald Blomfield, and Gertrude Jekyll; Jurkovič knew their works directly, or indirectly through the publications of Hermann Muthesio and Josef August Lux. He designed the paths on the property to be geometrical, the flower beds were densely planted with colourful flowers, the ornamental garden interlaced with the utility garden, and he made generous use of fruit bushes such as currants, gooseberries, and grapes. The assortment of trees included both deciduous trees (apricots, apples, walnuts, and linden) and evergreens, albeit to a lesser degree. The garden was supplemented with a pergola and gazebo. A space for games was also an important area, with a large swing. The objective of renewing the garden together with the renovation of the villa, in 2009-2010 was to return it to its original structure and atmosphere. The renovation of both the villa and the garden were seen by the authors as a living unit over 100 years old, so some of the younger trees were left in the garden and incorporated into the new design. The building's renovation was carried out by the Transat studio of the architects Petr Všetečka, Robert Václavík, Karel Menšík, and Alena Všetečková. The garden renovation design was partly the work of Tomáš Jiránek. The curators of the villa during the renovation were Martina Lehmannová and Marie Kopecká.
The villa has been open to the public since 2011 and is managed by the Moravian Gallery in Brno.