Ringstrasse — Otto Wagner + Viennese Modernity (1/5) — AB+C 79

This is the first episode in our new series on Otto Wagner. In it we discussed 19th century Vienna, an ancient city wracked by extremes of urbanisation and population boom; political radicalism and revolution. A crumbling ancient order and an emerging modern metropolis came to create the Ringstraße, a vast redevelopment programme that took the empty space around the walls of the old city and filled it with vast marble institutions and speculatively built apartment complexes that came to symbolise the newly empowered liberal city.

Into this fiery melting pot came Otto Wagner, a singular architect, often hailed as a precursor to modernism, whose career we will be exploring over the course of this multi-part series (with slightly shorter episodes that we will release more regularly).

[annietube]

I'm writing a novel that is partly set in Vienna c.1900 & it's been hard to find English language info on Otto Wagner, like you said in your podcast, so I very much appreciate this! And since there's no way for me to travel to the Ringstrasse myself, your first person reactions were very helpful! Thanks!

[rikurodriguesneto]

Architecture is a burgeoning interest of mine and you guys are definitely helping it along! Thanks a lot ! :D