Olbrich

Joseph Maria Olbrich came to prominence in his native Austria with the co-founding of the Vienne Secession in 1897. Olbrich's first notable - and controversial - achievement was the design of the Secession building and together with his friend Josef Hoffmann, he was responsible for developing the rectilinear styie of Art Nouveau which characterised the work of the Secession. In 1899 Olbrich joined the artists" colony established by the Grand Duke of Hesse in Damnstadt in Germany where during the next few years he was able to expiore fully his diverse creative talents in architecture and interior design. He designed a number of highly original houses members of the colony and exhibition pavilions and, in 1906, crowned his 'acropolis" with a distinctive tower to commemorate the wedding of the Grand Duke. During the following years, Olbrich produced designs for a number of private houses, many of which rely increasingly on classical precedent. His last major work was the Tietz department store in Dusseldort, referred to by him as a secular "cathedral".

lan Latham's perceptive study of Olbrich is the first monograph on the architect to appear in English and covers all his major works both private and public as well as a number of unexecuted projects. The work is presented chronologically in three main sections: the early work and the Vienna Secession: the buildings and projects of the Darmstadt period: and the later works undertaken in Germany. Each bullding is profusely allustrated by the architect's drawings and plans and by a wealth of photographs of exteriors and interiors taken shortly after the building's completion. Also included are examples of Olbrich's work as a designer of furniture, cutlery, wallpapers and fabrics together with maps locating Olbrich's buildings in Germany generally and a complete, up-to-late list of buildings and projects.

156 pages, over 200 illustrations with 16 pages in color