Adolf Loos was a very influential architect in the European modernist movement. His architecture is defined by spaces. He made distinctions between his exterior and interiors of his houses, separating the public and private spaces. His use of the Raumplan, a form of spatial planning, helped him to create a “promenade” from the exterior to the interior. This can be seen in his Villa Mulller house. There is a distinct transition from dark and compact, to bright and open, with many windows which he uses to frame different views into the interior and an exterior window which frames the Prague Cathedral off in the distance.
In Villa Muller, Loos uses a stairway as a way of circulation instead of central halls. This is a radically different from the architecture at the time, however he was quite successful in doing so, and this was one of the reasons why Loos was so important to the modernist movement in Europe.
In Villa Muller, the exterior of the house is contrasted greatly from the interior. The exterior is quite simple, being a box shape with white stucco, and various windows.
This is contrasted with the complex interior. Loos purposely did this to show a distinct separation from the private and public portions of the house.
Another architect of Loos’s time who had an influence on modern architecture was Hans Poelzig. Hans Poelzig was part of the Weissenfhofsiedlung exhibition, which was a gathering of several of the great architects of the early 1900’s in Stuttgart, Germany and was an international showcase. The project was headed by Mies van der Rohe, and included 21 buildings designed by seventeen different architects. Hans Poelzig’s house is shows some similarities to Loos, however he introduced some different ideas that would influence modern architecture as well. Both houses are simple box shapes, with white stucco. Both architects preferred simplistic facades. The interior of his floor plans are organized by geometric shapes with circulation revolving around an interior staircase, which is similar to Loos as well. However his organization of spaces creates narrow hallways for circulation as well and his floor plan stays compact through all three stories.
Another difference between Poelzig and Loos was Poelzig’s celebration of the exterior of his house. His organization of spaces in the exterior appears to be more complex than that of the interior spaces. A series of exterior spaces create exterior “hallways” which regulates the circulation.
The exterior is also slightly terraced, which is in contrast to the Villa Muller, which is quite simple. It appears as though Poelzig wanted to keep the outside and inside different, and as two different spaces. It’s sort of a reciprocal of the Villa Muller, which has a simple exterior and more complex interior. Poelzig creates a fairly simple floor plan arranged geometrically, and a more intricate exterior.
Both architects shared similar traits in their houses, however they had overall different approaches to the designs. They both played important roles in the modernist movement with similar ideas yet differing designs.
