The exceptional work of Bohemian architect Jan Kotera (1971-1923) forms the centre of an exhibition just opened at the Architektur Zentrum in Vienna: the first homage to one of the key figures in modern European architecture beyond the confines of the Czech republic.

A student of Otto Wagner in Vienna, as well as Joseph Hoffmann, Josef Maria Olbrich and Joze Plecnik, Kotera was one of the first to return to his homeland to fight against the mania for highly rich decoration imposed at the time by the fashionable historical eclectic style, having a notable influence on future generations of professionals, both local and otherwise. His main principle? To reduce decoration and at the same time leave space to transparency and the peculiarities of building materials (“Purpose, construction and place are the driving forces – the form is a consequence of these”, he often noted).

The Vienna exhibition aims to illustrate Kotera’s career through a selection of original drawings, sketches, photographs and models – from the Haus Peterka (1899-1900), his first Jugendstil building in the capital of Bohemia, to his own house and offices for publisher Jan Laichter (1908) also in Prague, up to his most famous work, the municipal museum of Hradec Kralove and the Lemberger-Gombrich house in Vienna (1913-15)

fino a 7.7.2003
Jan Kotera 1871-1923. The founder of Modern Czech Architecture
Architekturzentrum Wien
Museumplatz 1, Vienna
T +43-1-5223115
https://www.azw.at