Must-Have Heinrich Kulka (1900-1971: Raumplan, The Spatial Plan as a Design Method

“I want to remain completely in the background,” were the first words so typical of Heinrich Kulka, recalls Friedrich Kurrent, when he welcomed the architect on a visit to Vienna 28 years after his expulsion. (He was never officially persuaded to return from his exile in New Zealand.) Adolf Loos, whose equal partner Kulka quickly rose to become, had already been dead for five years by the time of his forced departure from Vienna in 1938. Without Kulka, we would have no Loos houses on the Werkbund Estate, no Knize shop in Paris, no Matzner stores (which were unfortunately destroyed), and the now world-famous term “Raumplan” (spatial plan) goes back to him. Kulka was also the first chronicler of Loos and, until his own death in 1971, spread his ideas halfway around the globe. This book presents, for example, the Kantor House in Gablonz and the Semler House in Pilsen—two of Kulka’s most important buildings, which he was able to realize before his escape—with extensive material from the family’s estate and other archives. The time is ripe to bring this person and artist from the background into the spotlight!