Villa Loos, building in Melk, Austria
Villa Loos is a residence built in 1901 and designed by architect Josef Plečnik for notary Hans Loos von Losimfeldt in Melk. The building displays a mix of textures with smooth and rough surfaces, decorated tiles in blue and beige tones, brickwork, and Eternit panels arranged in geometric forms.
Villa Loos was designed in 1901 by Josef Plečnik, a student of the Wagner school, and reflects the shift from traditional styles to modern architecture. Painter Ernst Stöhr, a co-founder of the Vienna Secession, used the house's attic studio before World War I as a meeting point for artistic and cultural exchange.
Villa Loos earns its nickname "Tile Villa" from the decorative tiles that cover parts of its exterior, showing the craftsmanship of the early 1900s. The house served as a gathering spot for artists of the time, especially after painter Ernst Stöhr set up his studio in the attic and attracted visitors connected to the Vienna Secession.
The building sits on Abt-Karl-Strasse in a quiet residential area with other historic villas from the same period. Visitors can view the exterior from the street, as the house is protected by law and not open to the public for tours inside.
The house is often called the Tile Villa because Plečnik used colored tiles in blue and beige as an essential design element. This use of ceramic tiles as an integral part of the exterior was unusual and innovative for its time, making the building feel lively even today.
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