Architects of three generations

The Viennese architect Camillo Sitte (1843–1903) is best known for his  work “Der Städte-Bau nach seinen künstlerischen Grundsätzen” (= “City Planning According to Artistic Principles”) published in 1889, in which he criticized the contemporary urban development of the late 19th century in a powerful and eloquent way.
The broad reception of “Städte-Bau” outshines not only the architectural work of Camillo Sitte but also that of his father Franz (1818-1879) and his son Siegfried (1876-1945).

In this context, the estate of the Sitte family of architects, which came to the TU Wien in the 1960s, represents a comprehensive source for research. In the last 20 years, even large parts of his study library have also been made accessible. In 2019, the estate was expanded by a recent donation from the Sitte family, which sheds more light on Camillo's second son, Heinrich Sitte.

Based on an examination of a planned sequel to his standard work on the theory of urban development by Camillo Sitte — the development of a previously untapped collection of materials kept by Camillo and his son Siegfried — the presented work is dedicated to contextualizing the diverse work of this family of architects spanning three generations.

It is not surprising that Siegfried Sitte continued his father's work in the atelier, just as Camillo had once done for his father Franz. Franz Sitte had made a name for himself in sacred architecture and passed this sphere of influence on to Camillo. Siegfried learned the crafts in a similar way in his father's atelier.

This continuity extends far beyond the completion of architectural and urban planning projects. Father and son each worked intensively on the development of projects at different levels, which are spread across the entire Central European region.

This also includes Siegfried's involvement as a teacher at the Staatsgewerbeschule in Vienna. Camillo, a passionate collector, built up an extensive library of works at the Staatsgewerbeschule and passed this passion on to Siegfried. Particularly with regard to the updating of urban development theory, the boundaries between the generations become blurred.