Department of Building Construction I contributed to the reconstruction of the roofs of Müller Villa

The Müller Villa, designed by Adolf Loos and located in the Střešovice district of Prague, is one of the most significant modern architectural monuments in Europe. The last comprehensive renovation took place in 2000 under the leadership of Václav Girsa, and is regarded as one of the most respected restorations of iconic villas from the early 20th century.

After more than twenty years of the villa’s successful operation as a museum, structural defects gradually began to appear. One example was the pair of flat operational roofs at the highest levels of the villa, where cracking and leaks into the roof composition were observed.

The reconstruction project was based on detailed documentation prepared in April 2023 by a team of experts from the Department of Building Construction I — Marek Novotný, Aleš Marek, Miloš Rehberger, and Aleš Mikula.

The restoration focused primarily on the degraded insulation layers of the roof terraces, whose condition threatened not only the structure itself but also the villa’s interiors. The modern, now-nonfunctional roof layers were removed and replaced with structures respecting the original design. Foam-glass slope wedges were installed, followed by a silicate carrier board and a new PMMA-based waterproofing layer. As part of the reconstruction, a faithful replica of the original glass-concrete skylight was produced. The original luxfer skylight structure was carefully removed in one piece and placed into the museum’s storage; the new replica was installed in its place. The walkable surfaces of the terraces were also restored — with a finish visually referencing the historic cast asphalt used in the villa’s original construction.

The villa is expected to reopen to the public at the beginning of next year.