Haus Wittgenstein Project

In 1926, the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein took over the interior design of a Modernist townhouse in Vienna for his sister, Margarethe. Retaining the overall structure designed by the architect, Paul Engleman, a student of Adolf Loos, Wittgenstein focused on the layout, dimensions and interior fittings – windows, doors, door handles and radiators. Chronologically and conceptually, Haus Wittgenstein comes between Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921/22) and the notes, lectures and posthumous publication of  Philosophical Investigations, a radical re-think of his earlier theories of language from the ‘picture theory of meaning’ to ‘language games’. This is an ongoing project exploring spatial epistemologies through drawings, photographs, collage and objects.

• In a two-person exhibition at the Danielle Arnaud Gallery (2024), Jon Bird and Ergin Çavuşoğlu responded to the building as a transitional object. Work from this exhibition was exhibited at Danielle Arnaud Venice during the 2025 Architectural Biennale.