The celebrated Brno-born modern architect Adolf Loos (1870–1933), who worked in the years before World War I and during the decade after, is considered a visionary for rejecting conscious ornamentation in favor of allowing a building’s function to guide its design. At the time, he was derided by many: When he designed the Looshaus on Vienna’s prestigious Michaelerplatz—a building clad from the waist down in smooth marble and sporting unadorned windows set out along a simple grid—critics mocked it as having “windows without eyebrows.” Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph I, known for his highly conservative tastes, loathed it. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-six Buy Now Related Stories Interiors Issue 48 Gil Schafer Inside the all-American family home. Interiors Issue 46 Bush Modernism Rebuilding the legacy of desert architect Alistair Knox. Interiors Issue 46 Heritage Craft A colorful guesthouse decorated by the artists of Gorée Island. Interiors Issue 46 Rural Splendor A farmhouse turned studio bordering a rugged moor. Interiors Issue 46 California Cool A mid-century post-and-beam house that blends with the nature around it. Interiors Issue 46 Gothic Revival The eclectic ornamentation of Gaudí’s first commission.
Interiors Issue 46 California Cool A mid-century post-and-beam house that blends with the nature around it.
