Villa Müller, an Adolf Loos Design in Prague
I had always thought of Adolf Loos as an Austrian, because of the work he'd done in Vienna like Looshaus. With this trip to Prague, I learned about how fluid the borders have been in this part of Europe, and so it shouldn't have been a surprise to learn that Loos was born in Brno, in what is now Czech Republic, formerly part of the larger Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I was delighted to learn that he designed a private residence in Prague, and that it was open to visitors. I had my hotel concierge book a spot for me (reservations are required), and got to visit later in the day.
Villa Müller is a house designed for the co-owner of a large construction company, and his family. It's known for its demonstration of Loos's concept of Raumplan, where the space is not designed one floor of rooms on top of another, but in discreet, interlocking spaces loosely spiraling around a staircase. There are many steps up and down to the different rooms.
I especially enjoyed the contrast between Mrs. Müller's sitting room with Mr. Müller's office. Her sitting room is decorated with light lemonwood panelling and fabric upholstered furniture, and so inspired by the coziness of a train car that there's a window that slides downwards so she could look down at the public space of the living room. Also when they had live music bands playing, the band would sit in this small space and the music would be projected to the open public spaces. Mr. Müller's office on the other hand had mahogany panelling, leather furniture, and a projector screen where he could give small-group company presentations. The spaces are conceived as private spaces with every element considered according to who would be using the space and how.
Photography was allowed, but only upon payment of a license fee of over US$200. Not worth it! But it is very much worth the US$10-15 admission, which includes the excellent guided tour. Just be sure to make a reservation, and plan your stay around when they give tours. Tours are only given four days a week, and on each of those four days there are only four or five possible tours.
Villa Müller is located in a quiet residential neighborhood called Střešovice, past the Prague Castle if you're coming from Old Town. As I learned on my tour, many of these houses were built with an English-inspired "garden plan" in mind, with pitched roofs and plenty of outdoor space like in the picture below. It's no wonder there was a lot of opposition to Loos's plans for Villa Müller.
