The exhibition commemorates the pioneer of modern architecture, Loos

Prague - An exhibition honoring the personality and work of the significant architect Adolf Loos (1870 to 1933) begins today at the Austrian Cultural Forum. It is held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of his death and is titled Learning to Live.
One of the founders of modern architecture, Loos, a native of Brno, was critical of the then-persistent historicism in architecture. "Ornament is a crime," he declared in his most famous statement. He considered ornamentation a sign of primitivism, while functionality and purpose were seen as marks of cultural maturity. He was a provocative creator and a brilliant theorist. He proclaimed that ornament is a hallmark of primitive culture and that "the development of culture and the removal of ornament are equally important."
He also clearly articulated his demands for housing, separating architecture from art, which does not have to be liked by anyone and is born "without any need for it to exist." In contrast, a house fulfills a certain human need, must serve comfort; he considered the ethical and moral requirements placed on architecture to be more important than aesthetic aspects.
Among Loos's most important buildings are the Goldmann & Salatsch department store in Michaelerplatz in Vienna (1910 to 1911), the house of the poet Tristan Tzara in Paris (1926), the unrealized project for a house for Josephine Baker, and the villa for František Müller in Prague. These buildings are united by a new concept of spatial arrangement known as raumplan, based on spatial and vertical differentiation of incorporated spaces.
The current exhibition presents Loos's residential spatial programs that respect the daily rituals of affluent middle-class clientele through examples of interiors in Pilsen, Prague, and Brno. Another part of the exhibition addresses Loos's life and briefly recalls the key points of his career. It extensively covers the Czech environment in which Loos found many of his students, friends, and promoters. The exhibition was prepared in collaboration with the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, which manages the Müller villa in Střešovice.