#designandtechnology

There is a strong consensus in the world of architecture that Adolf Loos is one of the founding fathers of utilitarian building design. Regarded as the first modernist architect, his essay ‘Ornament & Crime’ is looked on now as a design philosophy.

This essay stated that the ornamentation of objects was to be avoided at all cost and it was counter-evolutionary to go against this. 

"The evolution of culture marches with the elimination of ornament from useful objects"

Above is an example of his modernist design, the Villa Muller with it’s minimal white facade, rooftop courtyard and carefully considered windows is a perfect example of where functionality comes first.

This now widely accepted design style was considered revolutionary at the time and encountered much opposition. Today Loos is considered an icon but he considerably divided opinion during his day. It is his work in social housing, which is often overlooked, which I would like to focus on.

Loos believed that every family should have a home of their own, mainly consisting of two floors (one floor for living, one floor for sleeping; as this is how we divide our lives). Each house should have it’s own plot of land, able to grow fruit and vegetables. 

Appointed chief architect for social housing, he worked alongside Josef Frank in trying to move away from building the apartment blocks which dominated Vienna and fought hard to democratise housing in an image that he saw as sustainable. These simple terrace style houses were popular with residents, however the financial backers did not get as much return for their money and ultimately he was muscled out by the powers at be. The Vienna ‘settler’s movement’ was doomed to fail.

https://www.stuvia.com/doc/10112977/2025-aqa-gcse-design-and-technology-paper-1-8552w-written-paper

https://www.stuvia.com/doc/10112994/2025-aqa-gcse-design-and-technology-paper-1-markscheme-8552w-written-paper