Loos on Ornaments

In this chapter, I offer an interpretation of Adolf Loos’s rejection of ornaments that will lead to a different understanding of the analogy from Diktat für Schlick (c. 1933; see Chap. 2 ). I start by noting that Loos’s remarks on ornaments face two problems: no robust definition of ‘ornament’ seems to be provided and they seem to lack explanatory power. Considering the context of Loos’s writings, I argue that his remarks on ornaments were a means to the end of showing his interlocutors that they were wrong about the activity in which they were engaging (thus promoting self-understanding). According to this interpretation, the lack of a robust definition of ‘ornament’ is not problematic. As for the lack of explanatory power, this interpretation reveals that the problem was merely apparent, as Loos’s remarks actually allow us to explain his architecture. To support this claim, an analysis of the Looshaus is provided.