TECHO - general partner of the London exhibition on Moravian born Austrian architect A. Loos
„Learning to dwell: Adolf Loos in the Czech Lands“ – is the name of a project which starts on 24th February in London that will present the life and works of this famous Moravian born Austrian architect. The entire Adolf Loos Season is organised by the Museum of Prague in cooperation with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) with TECHO as a general partner of this unusual event.
The Adolf Loos Season includes a series of events that look at the influence that Adolf Loos had on European architecture and design. The first event looks at the work of A. Loos in the Czech Lands, which consisted mainly of residential projects. Using examples (including his Villa Müller in Prague) the organisers attempt to show how Loos used to exhort his clients to ‘learn to dwell’.
In the second part we can see a unique exhibition of unpublished material from the Adolf Loos archive which the Royal Institute of British Architects saved during the Second World War. Photographic records of the reconstruction of Villa Müller and the Hirsch apartment are a further exhibition. The final display maps out the work of the architect in other countries such as Austria, France, Switzerland and America.
The exhibition is accompanied by a range of seminars and workshops with guest speakers such as University Professor Christopher Long and architect Eva Jiřičná.
Adolf Loos was in the European context a promoter of the simple form without unnecessary ornamentation. His buildings were provocative, largely due to their simplicity. „Architects like me do not need a pencil. A rubber is enough for me“, Loos once said to demonstrate his way of thinking. Today his works belong to the textbooks on modern European architecture.
Major works:
• Goldman & Salatsch Building, (Looshaus), Vienna, 1911
• Café Museum, Vienna, 1899
• Maison Tzara, house and studio for Tristan Tzara, Paris, 1926
• Villa Müller , Prague, 1930
• Villa Winternitz, Prague, 1930
http://www.architecture.com/WhatsOn/Exhibitions/At66PortlandPlace/2011/Spring/AdolfLoosSeason.aspx