Loos and Hejduk Case Study Analysis Project

---

A precedent study of Adolf Loos and John Hejduk analyzing spatial organization through model reconstruction, drawings and diagrams of circulation and symmetry.  This project required a 1/8"=1' model of Hejduk's Texas House 4, drawings of Loos' Winternitz, and detailed diagrams with comparative analysis.

This project investigated the architectural plan through a comparative study of Adolf Loos and John Hejduk. Working in teams, we analyzed how each architect organized space and circulation, using Loos’ concept of the Raumplan and Hejduk’s nine-square ordering system as conceptual frameworks. The project focused on interpreting architectural plans not simply as drawings, but as spatial systems that structure movement, hierarchy, and relationships between rooms.

Our group reconstructed Adolf Loos’ Winternitz House using only archival drawings that were not provided at scale. The first step involved digitally redrawing the house in Rhino based on photographic references and measured interpretations of the original drawings for both houses. These digital reconstructions allowed us to produce accurate plans and grid identification that could then be used to fabricate a physical model of the building and provide a deeper understanding of each building.

The analytical component of the project focused on identifying key spatial patterns within the house. My diagrams specifically examined circulation and symmetry, tracing how movement flows through the building and how Loos organizes spaces around subtle axes. By overlaying diagrammatic drawings onto photographs of the model, I was able to highlight how the arrangement of rooms directs movement through the interior while maintaining a balanced spatial structure.

Through the process of reconstructing, modeling, drawing and diagramming the houses, the project revealed how Loos’ architecture operates less as a flat plan and more as an integrated sequence of volumes. The exercise demonstrated how analytical drawing and physical modeling can uncover the spatial logic embedded within architectural precedents.