Adolf Loos was an Austrian architect born in 1870 who was influential in early modern architecture. He traveled extensively in the United States as a young man, which inspired his plain, unadorned style that rejected ornamentation. Loos believed that ornamentation was unnecessary and a waste of resources. Some of his most notable works include the Steiner House in Vienna, known for its stucco facade and tripartite design, the Rufer House which pioneered his Raumplan concept of interconnected rooms at different levels, and the Villa Mueller in Prague with its severe symmetrical design and public versus private spaces organized by floor.

1. ADOLF LOOS
Early Life, theories, most notable works.

2. Early Life
-Background
 Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos
Born - 10TH December1870
 Born with a hearing impairment and was significantly handicapped
by it throughout his life.
 His father was a stonemason and died when he was nine.

3. Career
 Travelled to U.S when he was 23, supported himself doing odd jobs
initially, for visiting other cities like Chicago, St. Louis, New York.
(1893-1896)
 Returned to Vienna in 1896.
 Was a prominent figure in Vienna and was a friend of Karl Cross
(writer) and Ludwig Wittigenstien (Philosopher).

4.  Inspired by his years in New World (America) he devoted his entire
life to architecture.
 Briefly associated with the “Vienna Secession” (the union of
Austrian artists which included painters, sculptors and architects)
in 1896.
 He then rejected the style to form a new, plain, unadorned style.
 Early commissions- interior designs for shops and cafes in Vienna.

5. Architectural theory
 Was the author of several polemical (strongly critical) works.
 In his “Spoken into the void”(a collection of essays)
He attacked the Vienna Seccession at the time when the movement
was at its peak.
 Noted for the essay- “ornament and crime”, 1913.

6.  Explored the idea of progress of culture being associated with
deletion of ornament from everyday objects.
 Believed that it was a crime forcing craftsmen or builders, for
wasting time on ornamentation.
 His stripped down buildings influenced modern architecture and
stirred controversy.

7.  lack of ornamentation was noticed on the exteriors, but the
interiors were finished with rich and expensive materials like stone
marble and wood, displaying natural patterns and textures,
executed with high quality craftsmanship.
 In 1904 he visited the island of Skyros and was influenced by the
cubic architecture of Greek islands.
 He had an admiration for classical architecture, reflected in his
writings for “The Chicago Tribune” competition,about doric
column.

8. Prominent Works
Steiner house, Rufer house, Villa Mueller

9. Steiner House
 Located in Vienna,
Austria.
 Was built in the initial
stages of his career.
 Much better accepted
than Loos’ earlier
works.

10. Plan
 Loos regularly uses protrusions
from the main block to create
other areas of the building such
as terraces.
 He starts with one volume in
which the space, elements
follow rules and configuration
of classical style.

11.  Used volumes to create a
tripartite façade. (divided into
three parts)
 Living area raised slightly above
ground level, and separated
from more private areas of the
house, such as the bedroom
and painting studio located on
the first floor.
SECTION

12.  Has a stucco façade, like most of his
other buildings.
 Loos built his buildings with roughcast
walls, and used stucco to form a
protective layer over the bricks.
 The stucco façades create a strong
unornamented white smooth surface.
 Arched a metal roof at the ceiling of
the ground floor in front of the house,
but turned it into a flat wood and
cement roof at the apex.
Facade
View

13. Rufer House
 Located in Vienna.
 First example of the new style
of Raumplan.
 This method places great
emphasis on the scale of
individual rooms and often
requires steps into each room
or cluster of rooms.

14. Plan
 Has almost a cube like volume,
10mx10m internal space.
 Both first and second floor have
split-level distinction, the
second one being best seen as
Raumplan.
 A central column runs through
the house, acting as a
grounding agent, connecting
the entire house.

15. • First floor
. There are two levels in the lowest were located
the kitchen, pantry, wardrobe, bedroom and two
bathrooms.
At the highest level develops the dining room,
library and living room that has access to a
balcony terrace to the garden.
 Second Floor
Bedrooms and dependencies
 Third floor or attic
This plant is located several service units and a
terrace.
Sections

16.  The second floor is made up of
the living area on the lower
level and the dining room on
the higher level
 Dining area is seen as a part of
the living area and thus its
volumes intersect.
 Central column creates
distinction between the two
volumes.
SECTION

17.  Walls are stark white
 Window frames contain the least amount
of structure.
 The Parthenon replications are seen to
balance out the voids and surfaces on the
building (windows and walls)
 Window placements seem random from
the outside, and are the most noticeable
aspect of the house because of the blank
walls.
VIEW

18. VILLA MUELLER
• Built :
1928- 1930
• LOCATION :
Prague - Střešovice , Czech
Republic.
• Clients :
Frantiesek and Milada Mueller
• Material :
Solid brick wall and metal bars

19. The Site
there exists a double
slope having its lowest
point in
the north-eastern corner
of the
site.
Site slopes
towards the
northern side

20. NORTH
view to the castle of
Prague, the
Hradshin.
EAST AND SOUTH-EAST
Only this side of the site border
are with
houses
south-west
a smaller road , leading
to a older residential
area,in the north
east
more
private area in
the garden in
the East.
to secure it
from
unwanted
Insights
surrounded by
trees.

21. North And South Façade
This reveals a severe difference
between the roof storey
and the
forward part of the northern
Façade.
There is symmetry in the
method of placing the
windows
The windows and the entrance
area of the southern façade
are
combined to create a overall
shape
the part of the
north façade,
visible from the
northern road, is
nearly square

22. East And West Façade
the more
public(service
oriented).
the shape of the terrace is
again refined from an
overall shape of the façade
the dominant
element of the façade,
the bay

23. Floor Plan
• The floor plan of the house has
an aspect ratio of 3 to 2
• The shape of the floor plan has
also 2 symmetry-axis (I, IV)
• The squares over
this row contain the Kitchen
and dining room.
• The hall take the space of 2 squares, nearly 1/3
of the whole floor plan
plain.
• the toilet and the bath room
have the same aspect ratio

24. SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
• The ground floor and the first floor are
the really interesting levels
• There is a vertical organization from
public rooms in the ground
floor to the private rooms in
the upper part of the house .
• ground floor and the first floor has rooms
of different functions
• These were designed with different heights.

27. https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/Rufer_House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufer_House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steiner_House
Adolf_Loos-The_Life-The_Theories-Villa_Mueller.pdf
wikipedia. org/wiki/Villa_Muller
Google images
BIBLIOGRAPHY