Plzeň will make unique interiors by Loose accessible for one day

Plzeň - On April 16, the doors of apartments whose interiors were created by the world-renowned architect Adolf Loos in the 1920s and 1930s will be exceptionally opened in Plzeň for one day. Interested parties will be able to visit three interiors owned by the city and one apartment in private ownership, said the spokesperson of the magistrate Zdeňka Kubalová today to ČTK.
    The city already tried out the system of tours last year, which is based on people gradually moving from one apartment to another, Kristina Štěpánová from the presentation and marketing department stated. The apartments are located nearby, and walking to the furthest one will take up to ten minutes. "If visitors manage to go through all four places with Loos’s interiors during the day, they will understand not only the basic principles of his work but also the reason why he was a completely unique phenomenon in his time," noted Štěpánová.
    Guides will tell stories about the fates of the apartments and their inhabitants, who were mostly of Jewish origin. They will also add details about the architect. "Visitors will learn, for example, what Loos needed a schneekessel (copper bowl for snow made from egg whites) for, why he had such a good knowledge of the rare marbles he used to clad the walls of some Plzeň salons, and that as an architect, he almost never communicated with the authorities, making it difficult to determine how many architectural works he actually completed in Plzeň," added Štěpánová.
    Tours of the city-owned interiors at Klatovská 12, Klatovská 19, and Bendova 10, as well as the private apartment at Husova street 58, will take place from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Interested parties should plan their order and reserve it at the information center. The next opportunity to visit the interiors will be on September 17.
    Loos often stayed in Plzeň and realized several apartments there. Experts consider them extremely valuable. Not all have been preserved. The future of the interiors in Plzeň is part of the cultural development program for the period 2009 to 2019. A tour route focusing on modern architecture is also being planned.
    Loos (1870 to 1933) is considered the most significant Central European architect of the first third of the 20th century and a co-founder of modern global purist architecture. His style is characterized by clean, rectangular shapes, the absence of ornaments, simple functional forms, and noble materials.