WAGNER, Otto

Otto Koloman Wagner was born July 13, 1841 in the suburbs of Vienna Pentsings family of Hungarian notary Simeon Rudolf Wagner, who was married to the daughter of a wealthy courtier archivist Suzanne Helfenshtorfer.

Since 1850, Otto attended the classical gymnasium, then - the spiritual refuge in the Benedictine Krememyunstere. My mother dreamed of making a son of a lawyer, but Otto chose a career of architect and in 1857 entered the Vienna Polytechnic Institute. A few years later he moved to the Royal Academy of Berlin building. In 1861, Otto returned to Vienna and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1863 he successfully completed his academic education with a draft Kursaal. Some time Wagner was working in the studio of Ludwig Foerster and soon began an independent practice.

Almost fifty creative life of Otto Wagner, can be represented by three main periods: early - from 1863 to 1887, mature - from 1888 to 1908 and later period - until 1918. Spanning the early and mature periods are almost equal, but the magnitude of the designs mature twenty years is far superior to the early period.

. With the publication remained one of the earliest projects of Wagner's 1860 - the project home of Mr. K
. in Vienna, giving a vivid idea of the tastes of the then novice architect. It is clumsy, picturesque conglomeration of architectural forms of the Renaissance and Baroque.

. The hallmarks of historicism marked by many apartment houses Wagner - for example, building on Bellariashtrasse (1869), a house Grabenhof (1874-1877), building on Shottenringe (1877) in Vienna.

. Among the best Wagnerian houses - apartment houses in the center of Vienna - on Rathauzshtrasse and Shtadiongasse.

. In 1890, Wagner publishes a collection of their own means of architectural works, sketches, designs and executed buildings "
. It was here the first time, a new motto of creativity "Necessity - the only master of art."

. New period of creativity Wagner marked the expansion of the range of the master and the appearance of his works among the larger number of projects designed to meet the needs of large city
. Perhaps the key role played by this architect's work on a master plan for the reconstruction of Vienna competition 1892-1893 period.

. Working on a project redevelopment of Vienna, Wagner suggests a more ambitious transformation of the structure of the city than in the project construction Ringstrasse
. In its draft Wagner was one of the two first prizes of the competition.

Follow-up "style of practical utility" associated with two big competitive victories Wagner, embodied in the buildings of the temple and the Vienna Savings Bank.

Church of Sts. Leopold in the western district of Vienna Shteyngof built in the years 1904-1907 as the most important part of campus mental health facility. Wagner's idea is based on the earlier searches of the image of a cult built, . who led the first of a master: it is necessary to call the church projects in Essege (1890), . sketches of Berlin Cathedral (1891), . built in 1895 in the chapel of John Vering, . Projects Capuchin church and the parish church in Vering (1898),
. In all these designs Wagner sought to create a modern look of the temple, but he managed to do it only in draft church Shteyngofe.

. In the capture of "new gospel of construction" to search for "modern" is certainly very important one is designed by Wagner at the Vienna Central Savings Bank
. It was built in the years 1904-1906 in the north-eastern end of the Ringstrasse. The main facade of the building goes to a small area (pocket) Georg Koch. It is like a small lobby in front of the cashier, the organization of the space area associated with a facade of Wagner's buildings. Savings Bank has taken a quarter of irregular shape.

One of the best work carried out by Wagner - cutaneous tuberculosis clinic in the Vienna area Ottakringe. It was built in the years 1908-1913.

Wagner's mature period of his work earned him not only numerous honors, but the defeat of a number of competitions. In 1899, having gone from the House of the artist, an honorary member of which was Wagner, the master joined the Vienna Secession. In this regard, the real battle broke out against his design ideas competitions War Ministry and the Municipal Museum.

In 1900, Professor Wagner made a pre-project proposal to establish the City Museum in Vienna. It was approved in principle by the authorities and on its basis have developed a competitive program. In 1901, during the preliminary competition Wagner won one of eight prizes and the right to participate in the first round of the official competition. It was held in 1902 with the participation of many of Wagner's ideological opponents, led by construction adviser F. Schachner. Project Wagner jury did not decide to give preference, and the competition has been extended. The best participants were asked to make a model project in 1903 at the first round of the model appeared. The best projects were recognized Wagner and Schachner, certain decisions are not followed.

But Wagner was not discouraged, with the firm intention to win it in 1907, presented for the second round of another version of their project. In 1908 F. Schachner died suddenly, but the victory did not remain for Wagner. The third round of the contest conducted in the years 1908-1909 and made a condition to present a facade pattern in full size. In Wagner template was carried out on the canvas, he tore the wind ... The third round of the newly returned no results.

Perhaps less stubborn and resolute man then retreated to the more that it changed the proposed construction site of the museum - he offered to design a town Schmelz at the periphery of Vienna. This meant the collapse of all previous designs, but Wagner has developed a new project - the fourth version of the Municipal Museum, in essence, a completely new, in many respects similar to previous versions.

Desire for plastic enrichment of architecture with a total focus on the simplification of Wagnerian art forms creates a complex interplay of a number of projects as a mature and late period. Among them are the largest projects are the Peace Palace in The Hague (1905), the so-called "House of Glory in San Francisco (1908), the Palace of the Vienna Society (1908), Academy of the Arts Complex on the outskirts of Vienna Schmelz (1898) and the Temple of Peace in Vienna (1917).

. Project Temple of Peace - one of the last creative works of Wagner, who died in 1918
.

The need to publicly defend their beliefs led to the creation of Otto Wagner's publication of a number of theoretical works. This multiple editions of "Modern Architecture" (1895, 1899, 1902), "Architecture of Our Time" (1909), "Big City" (1911), "The quality of the architect" (1912), "On the improvement of art, (1909). Books Wagner inherent nature manifest to a greater extent than at the same time published the works of modern art, Henri van de Velde.

. Program performance of Wagner's idea - "only the starting point of our creative work can only be a modern life"
. Wagner's theory is closely connected with his teaching activities in the years 1894-1914 at the Vienna Academy of Arts. In 1911, the seventieth birthday of noted architect. As subsequently wrote the newspaper "Neue Freie Presse": "... Who thinks of writing a correct history of Viennese architecture, he should call the head - and one of the most interesting - so: Otto Wagner and his school."

. In fact, the teaching activities of Professor Wagner has played an important role for the development of architecture
. He led a large architectural class tirelessly and with talent, a lot of time and energy to giving students. Numerous projects students were published in the magazine "Architect". These publications gave greater weight to school. Wagner tried to teach their students a realistic, rational thought.

Wagner School has won international recognition. In 1906, L. Hevesi wrote: "The pupils Wagner so now seek out overseas, that only the personal prestige of Wagner can not continue to hold the young people whom he trained in his atelier in Vienna."