Hoffmann Sanatorium, Purkersdorf

Hoffmann Sanatorium Purkersdorf

Built between 1904 and 1906 by Josef Hoffmann for Viktor Zuckerkandl in Vienna’s leafy suburbs, the four-storey reinforced concrete cube with its flat rooftop and quadratic lines is considered an architectural revolution in its iconic simplicity. Conceived as a total work of art in the Art Nouveau style, Hoffmann was responsible for the architecture, garden and interior down to the minutest of detail. The additional costs that resulted led to a break with the client, who from then on had Leopold Bauer extend the ensemble, resulting in an addition in 1926. Vienna’s high society gathered here to take the cures. Aryanised in 1938, the building was used as a military hospital beginning in 1941 and as a retirement home until 1984. The luxurious furnishings (Wiener Werkstätte) had long since disappeared.

After a long period of vacancy and numerous discussions, the original appearance of the listed building was restored with the addition of the rooftop storey (architect Sepp Müller). Beginning in 2003, the façade, entrance and staircase were refurbished true to the original, and the building was adapted for use as a retirement home and connected to a new building via the historic walkway (architect Wolfgang Rainer).