Adolf Loos

Adolf Loos (Brno 1870 – Kalksburg, Vienna, 1933) was an architect and prominent advocate of an architectural renewal that embraced the renunciation of all superfluous formalism. In sharp contrast with Viennese eclecticism and above all with the Secession, his architecture was devoid of any ornamental superstructure, and form was meant to respond as directly as possible to the expectations and needs of human beings. In his writings, he illustrated his aversion to all forms of ornament and his theory privileging the utility of producing objects of simple, functional form.

Loos is considered one of the founders of European Rationalism and, more broadly, of modern architectural taste.