Rufer House

Stuart Jacome

Arch 211- M11

Prof. Khorsandi

Blog Post

Rufer House

This structure is a house for Josef and Marie Rufer designed by Adolf Loos in 1922 was built in Schliessmanngasse which is located in Vienna, Austria this is a densely populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also large areas of forest.  

This house exemplifies a cube having an internal space of 10m by 10m the general layout  through the home is exterior walls that are load bearing leaving the interior walls to partition space as a central column runs through the house hiding the plumbing and also acting as a framing device on the second floor. This central column is a grounding agent, connecting the entire house and acting as a point of reference. This is the considered the first example of the new style of Raumplan

Regarding the structure as a whole Adolf loos uses Raumplan a planning method based on discret rooms and dynamic sections; which places emphasis on the scale of individual rooms and often requires steps into each room or cluster of rooms.

For the exterior Loos was not interested in the facade being ornamental; he prefers to have the outside unadorned and he wanted to keep the pure form of the cube. The walls are plain white with window frames that have minimal structure nevertheless Loos includes a frieze and cornice that runs along the top of the structure as well as a replica of some of the parthenon frieze. The cornice and frieze bridge together the entire building while still adding to the strict nature also appearing invisible. The parthenon replications also provide balance between solid and void surfaces and at the same time keeping the ideal cube from. When perceiving the home from the outside the windows seem to be placed at random but looking from the interior the programmed windows provide light and views where they make the most sense.While the exterior is somewhat cold and illogical due to its window dispersal, the space inside is particularly ornamental which exemplifies his concerns and ideas on how architecture, form and ornaments should be interconnected to daily life.

When you look at the interior you understand why the Rufer house is an example of this. By having a multi level form on a single floor both the first and second floor use the split level program but Raumplan is most clearly distinguished when you look at the second floor. The second floor consists of the living room which is located on the lower portion and dining room which is on the higher level. Having these volumes on different levels gives a distinction between the two. The central column of the building not only further creates distinction between the rooms but also frames the space creating a diagonal view through the house. The private study is seen as a separate commodity that is disconnected from the living and dining space. The terrace that extends from the living room is an outdoor area that was excavated from the interior space which blurs the threshold by suggesting that is can be both an indoor and outdoor area.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Rufer_House.html

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/rufer/index.htm

https://visuallexicon.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/rufer-house-adolf-loos/