Adolf Loos and Modern Architecture in Vienna: Kobi Ben-Meir
Adolf Loos and Modern Architecture in Vienna: Kobi Ben-Meir
Adolf Loos and Modern Architecture in Vienna: Kobi Ben-Meir
Adolf Loos
and Modern Architecture in Vienna
Kobi Ben-Meir
Until the end of the 19th century, the dominant architectural
style in central Vienna was Neoism: Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic,
Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Baroque,
and so on. However, the late
1800s saw the emergence of a
new style generally referred to
as modern architecture. This
new architecture developed in
response to the immense social
change experienced in most
European cities: middle- and
lower-class citizens from the
agricultural suburbs flocked into
the industrialized cities, generating the need for cheap, fast-built
housing.
The new approach to architecture - simple buildings designed
according to a specific function
- suited the new social climbers. The upper-middle class and
the bourgeoisie openly aimed to
express their rising social status.
New architectural forms were
developed in order to distinguish
these groups from the older oligarchies. Modern architecture
put much more emphasis on
functional interior design to suit
the specific owner. Functionality,
rather than decoration, became
the motto; and the form was designed according to its function.
The new International Style
was a mixture of several modern
approaches: German Bauhaus,
the architecture of the Swiss-born
Le Corbusier, Italian Futurism,
and Russian Constructivism.
Tel Aviv and Brasilia, for example, were new cities designed
according to modern demographic structures, but older cities such
as London, Paris, and Vienna had
to develop new urban planning
to meet the demands of urban
change and growth.
Vienna is a fascinating example. By the end of 1857, Emperor
Franz Joseph I embarked on the