Yap, Charles

2ar-2

" The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from
utilitarian objects."

Regarded as one of the most influential European Architects during his time,
Adolf Loos was often noted for his literary discourse that foreshadowed the
foundations of the entire modernist movement. As an architect, his influence is
primarily limited to major works in what is now Austria and the Czech
Republic, but as a writer he had a major impact on the development of 20th
century architecture, producing a series of controversial essays that elaborated
on his own architectural style by decrying ornament and a range of social ills.
Adolf Looss minimalist styles were reflected in the works of Le Corbusier, Miers
van der Rohe, and many other modernists and led to a fundamental shift in the
way architects perceived ornamentation.

Born in Brnn in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Brno, Czech Republic) in

December 10, 1870, Loos was raised by Adolf Loos Sr., a stonemason, who died
at the age of 48, and Marie Loos, who died at the age of 88, 1921. Loos studied
at the Royal and Imperial State Technical College in Reichenberg (now Liberec)
until he left school to serve in the army for two years. After this, he attended the
College of Technology in Dresden for 3 years and worked as a mason, a floor-
layer, and a dish-waser. Eventually, Loos obtained a job working with architect
Carl Mayreder before he establishing his own practice in 1897. After teaching for
a period of time throughout Europe, he returned to practice in Vienna in 1928.

Through his writings, Loos desired to establish an intelligent method for

designing buildings supported by pragmatic reasoning. His opposition to
ornament extended to anything that could not be justified for its rational function.
As a result, his buildings were often composed of pure forms and were justified
by their economic practicality and utilitarian qualities. According to one of his
essays, entitled Ornamend and Crime, he states that The urge to ornament
oneself and everything within reach is the ancestor of pictorial art. It is the baby
talk of painting... the evolution of culture marches with the elimination of
ornament from useful objects.

His writings and architectural works sparked widespread furore, as they stood in
sharp contrast to traditional Viennese design and more recent styles following the
Vienna Secession and the Wiener Werksttte. Many of his works, although
controversial, revealed the roots of the modernist movement through their clean
white walls and pure forms. Le Corbusier himself considered Looss Ornament
and Crime "an Homeric cleansing" of architecture, revealing the magnitude of his
impact on modernist ideology.

REPRESENTATIVE BUILDINGS:

1910: Steiner House, Vienna, Austria

1910: Goldman & Salatsch Building (Looshaus), Vienna
1918: Haus Strasser, Vienna
1921: Horner House, Vienna
1922: Rufer House, Vienna
1926: Tzara House, Paris, France

1928: Villa Mller, Prague, Czechoslovakia

1928: Moller House, Vienna
1929: Khuner Villa, Kreuzberg, Austria

On example of his influence in architecture is one of his works, The Steiner House,
which states that ornamentation is a crime.

Perspective View
Section and Floor Plan, according to the book Adolf Loos
Elevations, according to the book Adolf Loos

http://www.archdaily.com/576187/spotlight-adolf-loos
https://www.geni.com/people/Adolf-Loos/6000000012427550739
https://www.geni.com/people/Marie-Loos/6000000013269922362
https://www.geni.com/people/Adolf-Loos/6000000013269540936
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/568227677963809189/
https://www.thoughtco.com/adolf-loos-architect-of-no-ornamentation-177859
Adolf Loos (book)