Abstract
This article explores the ways in which Simon Mawer’s depiction of architecture and of the character of architect in The Glass Room (2009) establishes connection with the pioneers of Modernist architecture and most notably with Villa Tugendhat situated in Brno. The ambiguous fusion of idea and material, of system and playfulness, of accentuated virility and cool, objective reasoning is clarified only partially by the act of engaging the characters in the dialogue with their real life models and the author’s employment of parallelism.
It may be understood on the basis of the affinity with the phenomenological conception of dwelling and building of Martin Heidegger whose vision of architecture echoes the persuasion of architects such as Le Corbusier or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The aim of this article is to decipher the aspect of building “as poetic measure taking” and elucidate the firm bond between material and spiritual dimension of architecture mediated with a surprising ease by means of Mawer’s fictitious rendition of Czech 20th century history seen through and reflected on the walls of the Glass Room, its metaphorical counterpart.