Otto Wagner

Austrian architect Wagner (1841-1918) published his designs for public buildings, villas, tenements and churches in four separate volumes between 1889 and 1922 (the last appeared posthumously). Here the original editions are gathered in one volume with an introduction by architectural historian Haiko. Reproductions of 16 of Wagner's colored architectural drawings, which did not appear in the original editions, have been added. There are photographs of some of Wagner's executed buildings (these were included in the original editions), but the book at hand is mainly appealing for the beautiful reproductions of his extraordinarily detailed and elaborate drawings. In these, we follow his evolution from a style greatly influenced by the Italian Renaissance to one in which the forthright expression of structural elements and modern building materials anticipated many later developments in 20th century architecture. (March)