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Josef Hoffmann
The well-known designer and architect Josef Hoffmann was born in the Czech town of Pirnitz on Thursday, Dec. 15, 1870. In his younger years, Hoffmann attended the State Crafts School in the town of Brünn. After he finished this, he moved to the Austrian capital of Vienna, 136 kilometers away. Here Hoffmann began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, where his teachers included such great names as Otto Wagner and Karl Hausener. After graduating here, he also began working for them. From 1899 to 1903, Hoffmann himself also taught at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts.
The first major project Hoffmann designed was the Purkersdorf Sanatorium near Vienna, which he designed from 1904 to 1906. Hoffmann's other well-known works include the Secession Building in Vienna, the Stoclet Palace in Brussels and Villa Sonja Knips which was also built in Vienna.
In the field of tableware, Hoffmann was also active: in 1906 he designed the famous cutlery collectionAlessi Rundes Modell for Alessi. This was modernized and reintroduced in 2015.