Architecture Truth Fin-de-Siècle Vienna Leslie Topp Hardcover 9780521822756

Architecture and Truth in Fin-de-Sicle ViennaAuthor(s): Leslie Topp\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521822756, 978-0521822756\nSynopsis\nThis 2004 book examines one of the key notions of modernist architecture as it was formulated in Vienna at the turn of the twentieth century. Providing a close analysis of four major buildings - Olbrich's Secession Building, Hoffmann's Purkersdorf Sanatorium, Wagner's Postal Savings Bank, and Loos's Michaelerplatz building - Leslie Topp investigates how 'truth' could be interpreted in a variety of ways, including truth to purpose, symbolist or ideal truth, and ethical notions of authenticity. Drawing on newly uncovered archival materials, Topp offers an interpretation of familiar buildings that are shown to encompass utopianism, hyper-rationality, and subjectivism. She also explores the connections between Viennese modern architecture and contemporary paintin.