Rufer House: exterior view

Loos completed the Rufer House in 1922, the first of the cubiform houses in which he further developed the Raumplan concept (the free disposition of volumes within a simple building form to give more complex interior spaces than are possible with continuous horizontal floor divisions). The building is one of the well-known images of the early Modern Movement, with its classical cornice and plain frieze above plain wall surfaces and an asymmetrical arrangement of windows that reflected the free planning of the spaces within.

Loos was very adamant about the pure form of the cube above all, and decoration is kept to a bare minimum. The walls are a stark white, and the windows frames contain the least amount of structure. This, however, is balanced by the frieze and cornice that runs along the top of the building, and a replica of some portions of the Parthenon frieze, positioned on the street side low enough for viewing. The frieze and cornice tie together the entire building while still contributing to the austere nature, seeming almost invisible.

Another key part of the Rufer house is the seemingly random arrangement of windows. With the blank white walls giving no distraction, the windows are the most noticeable aspect of the house. While the windows make no sense to the casual viewer from the exterior, the windows make perfect sense from the interior. These interiorly programmed windows give light and views where they make sense on the inside.

View the axonometric drawing of the Rufer House.