Adolf Loos Biography

Adolf Loos was an Austrian architect who left an indelible mark on European modern architecture. Through his writings, particularly the essay "Ornament and Crime," he rejected the aesthetic principles of the Vienna Secession and contributed to the theoretical foundations of modernism. Loos's essays, often written in a provocative style, explored the relationship between cultural progress and the absence of ornamentation, arguing that decoration needlessly hastens an object's obsolescence. His architectural style influenced the minimalist approach of modern architecture, though some of his own interiors surprisingly featured richly decorated elements, these being "organic" integrations rather than superfluous additions.