| In 1932, the Vienna Werkbund Estate was
opened as a showcase for urban, functional, and affordable living in the
presence of high-ranking public figures. It attracted worldwide attention,
drawing 100,000 visitors to admire the 70 different house types. Its architects
included Austrian pioneers of modernism such as Josef Frank, Adolf Loos,
Richard Neutra, Josef Hoffmann, Clemens Holzmeister, and Margarete
Schütte-Lihotzky, as well as three from abroad. Nevertheless, the project
failed due to the political and economic conditions of the 1930s.
Badly damaged during the Second World War,
it fell into a decades-long slumber and—despite being a listed monument since
1987—was ultimately placed on the World Monuments Fund's list of the world's
100 most endangered architectural monuments.
Today, thanks to exemplary comprehensive
restoration, it is once again considered one of the most important examples of
modernist architecture in Austria and has been awarded the European Heritage
Label. Extensive historical photographic material accompanies the tour. |
