Adolf Loos House - Michaelerplatz
, Vienna, Austria
Architect
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Adolf Loos
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Date Built
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Completed 1912
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Location
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Michaelerplatz at
the end of Kohlmarkt
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Description
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This elegant bank building, in the
Michaelerplatz in the old city of Vienna, hardly
looks controversial. However, when it was
built between 1909 and 1911 it created a storm
of controversy because it was regarded as being
dreadfully plain in a city where buildings were
adorned with eleborate ornamentation.
In a biography of the architect, Adolf Loos, on
the "Famous Architects -
architects.architecture.sk" website it explains
that, "In 1910, a public furor
spawned by the simplicity of the modernistic
design resulted in a municipal order to
suspend work; construction ceased and building
permits were denied. Adolf Loos responded to
the attacks in a public meeting attended by
more than 2000 angry residents. The
controversy ended with an agreement to add
window boxes in an attempt to countrify and
familiarize the unpopular design."
One cartoon from the day suggested that Loos had
gained his inspiration from looking at an
upturned street grid.
An article on the "Architects Architecture
Architectuul" website, addresses the issue of
the building's appearance. It says that,
"Despite its aesthetic functionalism,
the building is not a simple functional
building - especially in the materials. There
is a sharp contrast between the marble-lined
facade used at the ground floor (Cipollino of
Evia and Skyros marble) and the plain plaster
facade of the residential floors above.
The tuscan columns on the street level -
intended as an allusion to the portico of St.
Michael's Church. Instead of ornaments, there
are flower boxes in front of the windows of
the upper floors - according to a legend, the
shape of these boxes are memories of the
archduke's hat and allusion to the Imperial
Palace."
The building was commissioned as a store for the
Goldman & Salatsch men's clothing company of
Vienna. Today the Loos House is a branch
of the Raffaisen Bank
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