The Villa houses seasonally changing exhibitions which connect high quality creative work i.e. installations, events etc. with the subject of sustainability. The installations / exhibitions / events feature partners drawn from the arts, science and education. With each exhibition the full volume of the interior spaces is exploited to dramatic effect.
There is also a special permanent exhibition dedicated to the life of Rudolf Protz who originally built the villa. Protz was a successful businessman and lesser 'Andrew Carnegie' philanthropic character and is a legend in Joachimsthal.
Private use: Between exhibitions the main three spaces will be available for hire for private and business events. Simple hire of the spaces themselves up to a fully catered for events can be arranged. Refer to the contact page for further information.
A former residential villa, the building has undergone a transformation and partial restoration mainly to present installation art and events focused on Sustainability. Designed with historical and contemporary references the villa itself now has several unique features along with bespoke lighting systems.
Externally two finishing techniques have been used to reflect the past and the future use of the building. The east facade features a 100 square metre mirror finished stainless steel mosaic which is a kinetic artwork reflecting nature itself. It is perhaps the biggest of its kind world wide. The bulk of the remaining facade is coated with a special thin white render designed to reveal the historical traces of a building with many lives since it was built in 1897
The interior spaces are unique in themselves. These include 3 rooms with minimum height of 8 metres plus the former stair tower which like a church tower is a lofty 14 metres high. The raw brick finish reveals every change made by the various owners over a century which featured private ownership, public use as a medical station, and the very noticeable changes during its uses as a holiday location for an agricultural commune during the DDR.