Adolf Loos expert
I have been involved with Adolf Loos for over 20 years and have thus matured into the Adolf Loos expert I never wanted to be. However, deepening my knowledge of his work has always led me to new discoveries, which are also helpful in my work as an architect. Adolf Loos was one of the greatest architects of the 20th century and he influenced it a lot with his buildings and writings. He often felt misunderstood by imitators or abused by others who reinterpreted or shortened his work for their ideology.
For this reason, Loos never joined a movement and established his own architectural theory, which is based on not omitting, but consciously selecting, which does not deny tradition, but understands the present as a further development of the past. He was as enthusiastic about radically new inventions as he was about a centuries-old armchair, as long as it was comfortable. He was there for his clients and his clients for him. He was able to respond to the needs of his clients and thus lifelong friendships developed.
​
Activities
Villa Bauer in Hrusovany / Brünn CZ
Villa Bauer in Hrusovany / Brno CZ , built by Adolf Loos 1916. Historical image and actual image.
​
The villa will be restored and Ralf Bock was appointed to the international panel of experts in June 24.
KNIZE – Vienna
On behalf of the Niedersüss family and the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments, we are starting with the inventory of Adolf Loos' interior design and furnishing, beginning with the digital documentation of the current condition of all the rooms. This will be followed by a comprehensive survey of the surfaces and a historical examination of the building. A number of exemplary restorations will be carried out on the basis of these findings.
Extended New Edition of the Monograph Adolf Loos- Works and Projects by Ralf Bock
27 Nov 2021
Just in time for Loos' 151st birthday, the extended edition of my Adolf Loos monograph has been published in English, which has meanwhile become a standard work. I am pleased that I was able to add further projects and new photos to the edition.
Now there are 333 pages. All photos as usual by Philippe Ruault! Here are a few glimpses into the book.
Organizer Adolf Loos Symposium 2021 in the Federal Monuments Office VIENNA
16/17 June 2021
In 2021, I was organising the Adolf Loos Symposium at the Federal Monuments Office. Together with colleagues from the Czech Republic and Austria, I was able to gather the family of Loos experts in Vienna. We listened to very interesting lectures on the restoration of Loos objects and were able to exchange ideas in expert discussions during excursions to Loos objects in Vienna. A big thank you to President Bazil of the Federal Monuments Office who made this symposium possible.
LOOS 2021 -
VISIT PROGRAM OF LOOS BUILDINGS
2021
For the 150th birthday of Adolf Loos in 2020, I developed a tour program of apartments and buildings by Adolf Loos in Vienna in cooperation with Timo Riess from Architekturerbe Österreich. Due to the great demand, we have repeated and expanded the program for 2021. It was a lot of fun again. Thanks to Timo Riess and his team for the organizational support.
ADOLF LOOS - BICYCLE TOURS HIETZING
2021
Together with Architekturerbe Österreich, we organized bike tours to the Loos villas in Hietzing in the summer. Popular with young and old, demand was high and feedback was very positive. We would like to thank the district office for the support.
Ö1
June 11, 2021
The Ö1 journalist Anna Soucek broadcasts her contribution in Ö1 Leporello on the Adolf Loos walks and publishes excerpts from the interview with Gerhard Murauer (Vienna Library) and Ralf Bock, both of whom in 2021 three walks of the Adolf Loos Bauschule based on notes from Loos students. Loos did the walks on the history of Vienna's urban architecture for his students. There he introduced you to historical Vienna comprehensively and with detailed knowledge and an expert eye. You could get to know Loos as a passionate Viennese who was informed in detail about the building history of his heart city. The walks had to be repeated several times due to the high demand. Loos city tours are to take place again in 2022. Information on the club's website: https://www.architekturerbe.at
Thanks to the Wien Bibliothek im Rathaus and Timo Riess from the Verein Architekturerbe Österreich for supporting this series.
​
ADOLF LOOS - SYMPOSIUM BRNO / CZ
2021
Lecturer at the Adolf Loos Symposium 151 in Brno on the housing development of Loos. Title of the lecture: 'Adolf Loos - Sustainable in the 21st Century - Lone Warrior in the 20th Century'. Management of the excursion in Vienna to the buildings of Adolf Loos. The event took place as part of the cross-border in cooperation with our Czech colleagues.
ORF2 - DOCUMENTATION ADOLF LOOS
2020
For Adolf Loos'; 150th birthday, the ORF produced a 45-minute documentary about his life and work. The report was broadcast on ORF 2 shortly before his birthday at the end of November 2020 and repeated before the New Year's concert on January 1, 2021. I am pleased that I was able to present and explain some of Loos' projects.
21.-22.10.2020 Brno
Ralf Bock is invited to speak at the international symposium "Adolf Loos 150" in Brno and will report on the LOOS 2020 project.
July 17, 2020
The group of Loos experts from Austria accepted the invitation of the Czech curators of the exhibition "ADOLF LOOS -EUROPEAN ARCHITECT" at Spielberg Castle in Brno.
​
The newly restored Loos rooms in the Bauer Castle at the Brno Trade Fair could be visited together. An intensive exchange of information took place and further meetings were arranged. The Loos exhibition can be visited until 31.12.2020.
12 Nov 2020, 7 p.m
Joint event by Loos 2020 and the Central Association of Austrian Architects. As part of the event series: "Talking about architecture"
Ralf Bock gives the lecture "Loos Revisited - A journey through the works of Adolf Loos".
The owner of the Duschnitz house has commissioned Ralf Bock to draw up a private expert opinion on the documentation of the renovation that Adolf Loos carried out on the Duschnitz house. All Loos fixtures were also verified and documented.
Adolf Loos furnished and equipped the Emil Löwenbach apartment in 1913. It was considered lost for a long time as the house was hit by a bomb in WWII. Only recently he Loos interior was rediscovered. Today's tenant, Bridge Club Vienna, is very keen to preserve the existing furnishings. A high-quality restoration concept has now been agreed with the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments. Ralf Bock has carried out the historical research here and will manage the restoration work together with the FOPM.
This summer the municipality of Hrusovany was able to acquire the director's villa on the site of the sugar factory that Adolf Loos built for Viktor von Bauer in 1914.
Ralf Bock will advise colleagues in the Czech Republic who are working on the renovation and the new usage concept.
December 2020
The ORF is currently producing a new documentary on the work of Adolf Loos. Ralf Bock presents four Loos objects in Vienna and gave a long interview on the work of Adolf Loos. The shooting days were at the end of June 2020.
Kazuhiro Yajima has received a 12-month state scholarship from the Ministry of Culture in Japan. He decided to work with Ralf Bock to document and analyze the influence of Japanese culture in the work of Adolf Loos. Research begins in autumn 2020.
In 2018 Ralf Bock designed a complete exhibition concept together with Max Moya for a large public exhibition in the Albertina in Vienna. The exhibition was supposed to show the entire spectrum of his professional work and his private life. A new view of Loos should be possible. The title alone was intended to point out a misunderstanding: Loos gave the lecture: "Ornament and Crime", but this changed to "Ornament Is Crime" in the general usage of the 20th century.
Viennese Modernism on Lake Geneva
UNIL Lausanne University workshop in May 2023.
​
​
The Villa Karma - Adolf Loos' first construction contract - classification of the conversion and extension of the "Villa Maladaire" into Loos' overall work
