ORF-E
German
1 x 52 mins
Available worldwide except for Czech Republic

Emperor Franz Joseph called it a hideous building and, so as not to have to see it from the Hofburg, he had the windows facing Michaelerplatz boarded up. Vienna’s artistic avant-garde saw it differently, and celebrated the building as a victory over decor-obsessed historicism. Today, it’s considered a key work of Viennese Modernism: the Looshaus was built in 1912 by Adolf Loos – architect, critic, cultural journalist and, even before the abuse scandal of 1928, without question one of the most controversial artists of his time. On December 10, 2020, on the occasion of his 150th birthday, the documentary is dedicated to the life and work of the enfant terrible of the Viennese art scene around 1900.