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Creating your Home with Style: Taste is Timeless
The Architect and journalist Adolf Loos had an opinion on everything and knew the answers to all the questions - especially when it came to the construction, housing and good taste. Loos, who designed many homes and apartments, urged to mix styles, to be original and to have the freedom to chose, rather than following trends.
- GenresPhilosophy
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Adolf Loos
34 books37 followersAdolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos was an Austrian architect. He was influential in European Modern architecture, and in his essay Ornament and Crime he abandoned the aesthetic principles of the Vienna Secession. In this and many other essays he contributed to the elaboration of a body of theory and criticism of Modernism in architecture.
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Loos authored several polemical works. In Spoken into the Void, published in 1900, Loos attacked the Vienna Secession, at a time when the movement was at its height.
In his essays, Loos used provocative catchphrases and has become noted for one particular essay/manifesto entitled Ornament and Crime, spoken first in 1910.In this essay, he explored the idea that the progress of culture is associated with the deletion of ornament from everyday objects, and that it was therefore a crime to force craftsmen or builders to waste their time on ornamentation that served to hasten the time when an object would become obsolete. Loos' stripped-down buildings influenced the minimal massing of modern architecture, and stirred controversy. Perhaps surprisingly, some of Loos's own architectural work was elaborately decorated, although more often inside than outside, and the ornamented interiors frequently featured abstract planes and shapes composed of richly figured materials, such as marble and exotic woods. The visual distinction is not between complicated and simple, but between "organic" and superfluous decoration.
-
Loos authored several polemical works. In Spoken into the Void, published in 1900, Loos attacked the Vienna Secession, at a time when the movement was at its height.
In his essays, Loos used provocative catchphrases and has become noted for one particular essay/manifesto entitled Ornament and Crime, spoken first in 1910.In this essay, he explored the idea that the progress of culture is associated with the deletion of ornament from everyday objects, and that it was therefore a crime to force craftsmen or builders to waste their time on ornamentation that served to hasten the time when an object would become obsolete. Loos' stripped-down buildings influenced the minimal massing of modern architecture, and stirred controversy. Perhaps surprisingly, some of Loos's own architectural work was elaborately decorated, although more often inside than outside, and the ornamented interiors frequently featured abstract planes and shapes composed of richly figured materials, such as marble and exotic woods. The visual distinction is not between complicated and simple, but between "organic" and superfluous decoration.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2018
An architect railing against architects and a modern man combating modernism
This selection of essays and news articles published a century ago in the Neue Freie Presse is incredibly pertinent still today. Adolf Loos was obviously much enchanted with his journeys to England and America and say there a surviving vibrant culture which had been killed in French dominated Vienna (but still survived, if derided) in the Austrian countryside.
If some of the articles feel dated and the battles worn, it should be remembered that Loos was fighting a culture where the fashion on the street was the fashion on the cat-walk. Today we accept, sometimes grudgingly and sometimes with humour the distinction between art and life, but in Habsburg Vienna the cat-walk had invaded the street to comic effect. Today, we are relieved when the street (infrequently) manages to climb onto the cat-walk. Otherwise, the two never touch.
The writing style is light and clever, with an infusion of wit to the seriousness of the task. Loos tackles a number of subjects, some remarkably contemporary while others offering an insight into the world of today.
Introduction
by the translator Michael Edward Troy has this gem from Loos: "Do not be afraid of being called old-fashioned. Changes to the traditional way of building are permissible only if they represent an improvement- otherwise leave everything as it is." (p. 11)
Interiors-Prelude
Loos here notes the abhorent state of modern architecture (by which he means interior design) and the domination of the 'art(chitect)' aspect over the 'craftsman' in order to ensure that everything in the apartment fit together.
"This upright fellow [The upholsterer], who in the past diligently plied away with his needles, or stuffed mattresses now let his hair grow long, put on a velvet jacket, wore a flowing necktie around his neck and became an artist. On his nameplate he replaced the word "Upholsterer" with "Interior Designer "...And so began the dominance of the upholsterer, a reign of terror that still gives us nightmares." (p. 15)
The Interiors in the Rotunda
A continuation of the previous theme noting the difference between perception and reality when the middle class imitate the upper class. He fails to note the danger of people with terrible taste, assuming that even the worst plebian has better taste that the architects/interior designers of the day. My Italian grandmother's collection of glow-in-the-dark rosaries decorating lenticular images of Jesus and Mary might have given him pause.
"In my last article I made some truly heretical demands. Neither the archeologist, nor the interior designer, nor the architect, nor the sculptor, should furnish our apartments. Well, who should then? It is all quite simple- everyone can create their own interior." (p. 22)
"Every piece of furniture, every object, every thing has a story to tell- the story of our family. Our home was never finished, it developed with us, and we with it. It was certainly without 'style'...But it did have a style, the style of its occupants- the style of our family." (p. 25)
"Even the king would live in a room that had grown along with him, but he received his guests in chambers designed by the court architect." (p. 26)
"Today we wear narrow trousers; tomorrow they will be wide, and the day after narrow again." (p. 27)
Chairs
What could possibly be interesting about chairs? This article starts with a classic definition of beauty then goes on to expound on the virtues of American ways of relaxing in chairs.
"The Otto Wagner Room... is beautiful, not because but despite the fact that it was designed by an architect." (p. 31)
"For most beauty signifies the highest form of perfection. It is therefore completely out of the question that something not practical can be beautiful...but just being functional does not make it beautiful." (p. 31)
"Here [Vienna or Europe in general], however, there are still those who are offended by other people making themselves comfortable. These are people that become irritated by others putting thier feet on the opposite seat in a railway car, not to mention even lying down on one. The English and Americans, devoid of such pettiness, are real virtuosos in relaxation." (p. 34-35)
The Home
Here Loos offers to help people furnish (not decorate) their homes if they merely write to him with questions. But he warns:
"When it comes to your home, you are always right. No one else is right. The advocates of the modern arts will tell you that they can create each apartment according to your individual style. This is a lie. An artist can furnish an apartement according to his style." (p. 40)
The Apartement
An imaginary conversation between someone buying a closet from a craftsman with parallels to how apartments should be viewed.
The Christmas Exhibition at the Austrian Museum
A long article on the evils of replicas, and the gauche habit of imitating higher culture by buying products which only appear to be quality. I think it was a great mercy that Adolf Loos died before Ikea and particle-board furniture became ubiquitous.
"England was the first country to declare war on imitation." (p. 52)
"So we, too, are slowly beginning to realizethat if the money for richly decorated furnishings is not available, the emphasis must be on solidity and practicality...The citizen's pride in his own class has been arouse. Imitating the aristocracy is slowly going out of fashion." (p. 53)
"The first requirement of the modern mind being that objects of daily use be practical. The modern mind sees beauty as absolute perfection, and since such an inpractical object cannot be perfecet, it cannot be beautiful either. Our second requirement is absolute truth and, as I have already pointed out, imitation, pseudo-elegance is, thank God, finally becoming a thing of the past. And our third requirement is individuality. That is to say, as a general principle a king should furnish his rooms like a king, an ordinary citizen like an ordinary citizen, and a peasant like a peasant." (p. 56)
Furniture
Keeping something of a purity in an age. When the medium and the message are confused it does violence to both.
"If one wants to use modern glass, then one should draw modern figures" (59)
"They still believe one can create new works in the spirit of a past era. They clearly do not feel that the gothic gas candelabrum is just as rediculous as the gothic locomotive." (p. 62)
Plumbers
How Vienna, after the French fashion, has actually decrease water usage. My wife has a picture hanging in the living-room which reads: "Choses que j'ai entendu de la France quand j'étais une petite fille: Les française ne se lavent pas, mais ils se parfument beaucoup."
"We don't need art because we are not even properly civilized yet." (p. 70)
"The only "decoration" in one's kitchen- and this goes for kitchen appliances as well- should be cleanliness." (p. 73)
The Poor Rich Man
The story of a happy rich man who makes the mistake of hiring an architect to completely refurbish his house so as to incorporate 'art'. Naturally, what was once a space for life turns dead and sterile.
"The only thing left for him was to learn to walk around in his own dead body. Yes, he is finished! He is complete!" (p. 83)
An Interesting Encourter
An encountered between a man and an interior decorator after the man say some of the interior decorator's previous work:
"I always have believed that our differences were a matter of principal. NowI see that it is only a time orientation...[three years ago] I said the same thing about the place at the time- calling it crap- and you do the same today." (p. 84)
I could continue but I think you get the point. This book is well worth the read.
This selection of essays and news articles published a century ago in the Neue Freie Presse is incredibly pertinent still today. Adolf Loos was obviously much enchanted with his journeys to England and America and say there a surviving vibrant culture which had been killed in French dominated Vienna (but still survived, if derided) in the Austrian countryside.
If some of the articles feel dated and the battles worn, it should be remembered that Loos was fighting a culture where the fashion on the street was the fashion on the cat-walk. Today we accept, sometimes grudgingly and sometimes with humour the distinction between art and life, but in Habsburg Vienna the cat-walk had invaded the street to comic effect. Today, we are relieved when the street (infrequently) manages to climb onto the cat-walk. Otherwise, the two never touch.
The writing style is light and clever, with an infusion of wit to the seriousness of the task. Loos tackles a number of subjects, some remarkably contemporary while others offering an insight into the world of today.
Introduction
by the translator Michael Edward Troy has this gem from Loos: "Do not be afraid of being called old-fashioned. Changes to the traditional way of building are permissible only if they represent an improvement- otherwise leave everything as it is." (p. 11)
Interiors-Prelude
Loos here notes the abhorent state of modern architecture (by which he means interior design) and the domination of the 'art(chitect)' aspect over the 'craftsman' in order to ensure that everything in the apartment fit together.
"This upright fellow [The upholsterer], who in the past diligently plied away with his needles, or stuffed mattresses now let his hair grow long, put on a velvet jacket, wore a flowing necktie around his neck and became an artist. On his nameplate he replaced the word "Upholsterer" with "Interior Designer "...And so began the dominance of the upholsterer, a reign of terror that still gives us nightmares." (p. 15)
The Interiors in the Rotunda
A continuation of the previous theme noting the difference between perception and reality when the middle class imitate the upper class. He fails to note the danger of people with terrible taste, assuming that even the worst plebian has better taste that the architects/interior designers of the day. My Italian grandmother's collection of glow-in-the-dark rosaries decorating lenticular images of Jesus and Mary might have given him pause.
"In my last article I made some truly heretical demands. Neither the archeologist, nor the interior designer, nor the architect, nor the sculptor, should furnish our apartments. Well, who should then? It is all quite simple- everyone can create their own interior." (p. 22)
"Every piece of furniture, every object, every thing has a story to tell- the story of our family. Our home was never finished, it developed with us, and we with it. It was certainly without 'style'...But it did have a style, the style of its occupants- the style of our family." (p. 25)
"Even the king would live in a room that had grown along with him, but he received his guests in chambers designed by the court architect." (p. 26)
"Today we wear narrow trousers; tomorrow they will be wide, and the day after narrow again." (p. 27)
Chairs
What could possibly be interesting about chairs? This article starts with a classic definition of beauty then goes on to expound on the virtues of American ways of relaxing in chairs.
"The Otto Wagner Room... is beautiful, not because but despite the fact that it was designed by an architect." (p. 31)
"For most beauty signifies the highest form of perfection. It is therefore completely out of the question that something not practical can be beautiful...but just being functional does not make it beautiful." (p. 31)
"Here [Vienna or Europe in general], however, there are still those who are offended by other people making themselves comfortable. These are people that become irritated by others putting thier feet on the opposite seat in a railway car, not to mention even lying down on one. The English and Americans, devoid of such pettiness, are real virtuosos in relaxation." (p. 34-35)
The Home
Here Loos offers to help people furnish (not decorate) their homes if they merely write to him with questions. But he warns:
"When it comes to your home, you are always right. No one else is right. The advocates of the modern arts will tell you that they can create each apartment according to your individual style. This is a lie. An artist can furnish an apartement according to his style." (p. 40)
The Apartement
An imaginary conversation between someone buying a closet from a craftsman with parallels to how apartments should be viewed.
The Christmas Exhibition at the Austrian Museum
A long article on the evils of replicas, and the gauche habit of imitating higher culture by buying products which only appear to be quality. I think it was a great mercy that Adolf Loos died before Ikea and particle-board furniture became ubiquitous.
"England was the first country to declare war on imitation." (p. 52)
"So we, too, are slowly beginning to realizethat if the money for richly decorated furnishings is not available, the emphasis must be on solidity and practicality...The citizen's pride in his own class has been arouse. Imitating the aristocracy is slowly going out of fashion." (p. 53)
"The first requirement of the modern mind being that objects of daily use be practical. The modern mind sees beauty as absolute perfection, and since such an inpractical object cannot be perfecet, it cannot be beautiful either. Our second requirement is absolute truth and, as I have already pointed out, imitation, pseudo-elegance is, thank God, finally becoming a thing of the past. And our third requirement is individuality. That is to say, as a general principle a king should furnish his rooms like a king, an ordinary citizen like an ordinary citizen, and a peasant like a peasant." (p. 56)
Furniture
Keeping something of a purity in an age. When the medium and the message are confused it does violence to both.
"If one wants to use modern glass, then one should draw modern figures" (59)
"They still believe one can create new works in the spirit of a past era. They clearly do not feel that the gothic gas candelabrum is just as rediculous as the gothic locomotive." (p. 62)
Plumbers
How Vienna, after the French fashion, has actually decrease water usage. My wife has a picture hanging in the living-room which reads: "Choses que j'ai entendu de la France quand j'étais une petite fille: Les française ne se lavent pas, mais ils se parfument beaucoup."
"We don't need art because we are not even properly civilized yet." (p. 70)
"The only "decoration" in one's kitchen- and this goes for kitchen appliances as well- should be cleanliness." (p. 73)
The Poor Rich Man
The story of a happy rich man who makes the mistake of hiring an architect to completely refurbish his house so as to incorporate 'art'. Naturally, what was once a space for life turns dead and sterile.
"The only thing left for him was to learn to walk around in his own dead body. Yes, he is finished! He is complete!" (p. 83)
An Interesting Encourter
An encountered between a man and an interior decorator after the man say some of the interior decorator's previous work:
"I always have believed that our differences were a matter of principal. NowI see that it is only a time orientation...[three years ago] I said the same thing about the place at the time- calling it crap- and you do the same today." (p. 84)
I could continue but I think you get the point. This book is well worth the read.
February 26, 2024
Der damaligen Zeit entsprechend ausschweifend und umständlich formuliert. Die Message aber ist noch immer aktuell.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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