The New Space

Book excerpt: Scholars have long stressed the problem of ornament and expression when considering Viennese modernism. By the first decade of the 20th century, however, the avant-garde had shifted its focus from the surface to the interior. Adolf Loos (1870–1933), together with Josef Frank (1885–1967) and Oskar Strnad (1879–1935), led this generation of architects to interpret modernism through culture and lifestyle. They were interested in the experience of architectural space: how it could be navigated, inhabited, and designed to reflect the modern way of life while also offering respite from it. The New Space traces the theoretical conversation about space carried out in the writings and built works of Loos, Frank, and Strnad over four decades. The three ultimately explored what Le Corbusier would later—independently—term the architectural promenade. Lavishly illustrated with new photography and architectural plans, this important book enhances our understanding of the development of modernism and of architectural theory and practice.