Adolf Loos Bookcases
Essentially dubbed the Frank Llyoyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, Adolf Loos possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture, and wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture.
The son of a stonemason and sculptor, Loos was born in 1870 in what is now Brno in the Czech Republic. He studied architecture in Dresden in 1889, completed a year of military service and moved to the United States by 1893. He visited the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and came to appreciate the American approach to design over his three-year stay before returning to Vienna.
An avid proponent of simplicity, Loos hated fluff above all else. In his best known essay, “Ornament and Crime,” he states “the evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornamentation from objects of everyday use” — a principle evident in both his architectural work and furniture. His writing was profoundly influential for practitioners of the International Style that would emerge later as well as the likes of prolific Swiss-born French architect and modernist prophet Le Corbusier.
Loos challenged the prevailing architecture and decorating styles of his time, and disliked the ornate work associated with the Vienna Secession and Gesamtkunstwerk — the concept of a house as total work of art — an ideal pursued by a collective born from the Secession called the Wiener Werkstätte. To Loos, design should prioritize function, and any ornamentation devoid of a structural purpose was childish and unnecessary.
Loos’s furniture — alongside the work of fellow Austrian architect Josef Hoffman — was the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Applied Arts in 2014. His architecture projects, including the Viennese Goldman and Salatsch building, the Austrian Steiner House and the Villa Müller in Prague, are celebrated by design enthusiasts all over the world.
Find vintage Adolf Loos seating, lighting and other furniture on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Adolf Loos Bookcases
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Adolf Loos Bookcases
Wood
2010s American Modern Adolf Loos Bookcases
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Adolf Loos Bookcases
Metal, Brass
2010s German Modern Adolf Loos Bookcases
Steel
Early 20th Century English Adolf Loos Bookcases
Bamboo, Wood, Paint
Early 19th Century Antique Adolf Loos Bookcases
Brass
Late 20th Century European Adolf Loos Bookcases
Olive, Wood
1910s Slovak Vienna Secession Vintage Adolf Loos Bookcases
Beech
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Adolf Loos Bookcases
Bronze, Steel
2010s American Modern Adolf Loos Bookcases
Brass
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Adolf Loos Bookcases
Pine
19th Century British Late Victorian Antique Adolf Loos Bookcases
Mahogany
Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Antique Adolf Loos Bookcases
Brass
Adolf Loos bookcases for sale on 1stDibs.
- What is Adolf Loos famous for?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertJanuary 10, 2025Adolf Loos is famous for his achievements as a designer. Essentially dubbed the Frank Lloyd Wright of Europe by Wright himself, he possessed a talent for architecture and interior design as potent as his outspoken criticism of Art Nouveau and excessive ornamentation. A forerunner of the International Style, Loos exercised immense restraint in his building projects as well as his designs for chairs, tables, storage pieces and other furniture. He wrote prolifically on his disdain for taking a decorative approach to architecture. Explore a variety of Adolf Loos furniture on 1stDibs.