of the mezzanine the interior fills up the empty space above the porch: the top of the
columns is indicated by a simple metal girder with the bow windows of the mezza-
nine above it between rectangular column blocks. In this way a transition is achieved
from the columns with the spaces between them to the wall above that is com-
pletely filled in. The cornice marks the boundary between the lower and upper parts
of the facade. The Tuscan columns are repeated on a smaller scale in the side fa-
cades, just as the iron girder is echoed in the wide horizontal strip in the bow win-
dows on the side facades.
The rough ratios that determine the rhythm of the facade are partially dictated
by the ratios of the other premises on the Michaelerplatz—the Herberstein palace,
the Hofburg, and the Michaelerkirche (figures 50, 51, and 52). The contrast between
the ratios of the lower part of the front facade (3:1) and that of the side facades (2:2)
emphasizes their difference in importance. The use of materials in this commercial
part is very rich: the columns are monoliths made of green veined Cipollino marble
and the rest of the shop front is clad with the same material.
Loos’s own comment on this design remains the best account of his
intentions:
In order to separate the commercial and living sections of the house on
the Michaelerplatz, the design of the facade was differentiated. I meant
to make use of the two main pillars and the smaller supports to accen-
tuate the rhythm, without which there can be no architecture. The fact
that the axes are not congruent emphasizes this split. To avoid the
building becoming exaggeratedly monumental and also to stress that
the occupant is a tailor by profession, albeit a leading one, I designed
the windows as “English” bow-windows. The division of the windows
into small elements was intended to guarantee the intimacy of the
interior.^37What is emphasized is the way that architecture can design contrasts, the way that
it distinguishes between different realms of life. Authenticity of expression has to do
with the degree to which it succeeds in making these distinctions operative. This is
accompanied by dissonances and nihilistic aspects, but it is precisely here that this
architecture is true to life; rather than deceiving people with an illusory harmony,
Loos chose a ruthless design that does not gloss over any discontinuities and mo-
ments of fissure but highlights them.
Discontinuous Continuity
The relationship with tradition is Loos’s central theme, both in his writings and in his
architectural work. He does not treat modernity as a new beginning, as a completely
unique period that deliberately breaks with tradition. On the contrary, he sees moder-
3
Reflections in a Mirror