Purkersdorf Sanatorium Analysis

Register to read the introduction… From Hoffmann’s autobiography, he states that there were irreconcilable disputes between the client Zuckerkandl and Fritz Warndorfer (Hoffmann’s partner in the Wiener Werkstatte). As the problems escalated, Zuckerkandl finally refused to provide agreed payments because he was unsatisfied with the construction of the sanatorium. In addition, he also replaced Hoffmann with the architect Leopold Bauer to complete construction. This incident also caused Hoffman to leave Wiener Werkstatte to become and architecture professor in Stubenring. While Wiener Werkstatte and other firms that contributed to the construction eventually won all the lawsuits and received their promised funds, resolution did not occur in time to stop Bauer from constructing an extra story to the building in 1926. Hoffman was highly against this alteration to his design because it countered his original intentions of simplicity, but due to the lawsuits involved, the design of the Purkersdorf Sanatorium was not restored to Hoffmanns original design until …show more content…
Originally intended to be a high end medical retreat, the sanatorium quickly became a social gathering place for the upper class patients from all over the world. However, due to the Soviet War scare of 1927, the building was taken over after Bauer’s reconstruction of an additional story and used a military hospital for Soviet Union troops. During that time of occupation, many pieces of furniture and artwork were stolen from the building. After more changes of ownership, the sanatorium eventually found its role as a home for the elderly. As of 1995, the building was fully restored with reproductions of Hoffmann’s designs to resemble its initial glorious …show more content…
Hoffmann, Josef Hoffmann : Architect and Designer, 1870-1956. (New York:
Galerie Metropol, 1981).

Museum of Modern Art, Sitzmaschine Chair with Adjustable Back (model 670). http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=3431. (Oct. 2012).

Leslie Topp, An Architecture for Modern Nerves: Josef Hoffmann’s Purkersdorf Sanatorium.
(CA: University of California Press,1997).

Lund Humphries, Maddness and Modernity: Mental Illness and the Visual Arts in Vienna 1900.
(UK: Butler Tanner & Dennis Ltd, 2009), 86-89.

WOKA Lamps Vienna, Sanatorium Purkersdorf. http://woka.com/en/info/building/sanatoriumpurkersdorf.asp. (Oct.2012).

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[ 1 ]. Lund Humphries, Maddness and Modernity: Mental Illness and the Visual Arts in Vienna 1900. (UK: Butler Tanner & Dennis Ltd, 2009), 86-89.
[ 2 ]. Lund Humphries, Maddness and Modernity: Mental Illness and the Visual Arts in Vienna 1900. (UK: Butler Tanner & Dennis Ltd, 2009), 86-89.
[ 3 ]. Christian Brandstätter, Vienna 1900 : Art, Life & Culture. (New York: Vendome Press, 2006).
[ 4 ]. Josef Franz. Hoffmann Josef Hoffmann : Architect and Designer, 1870-1956. (New York: Galerie Metropol,