This book is the first comprehensive document to the complete works of Josef Hoffmann. As a student of Otto Wagner, a founding member of the Vienna Secession art movement (1897), a professor at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule) (1899-1936), and co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte cooperative (1903), the Deutscher Werkbund association (1907) and the Österreichischer Werkbund (1912), Hoffmann helped to cultivate a new model of architectural and product design characterized by advanced craftsmanship and artistic ambition.

The book, which features more than 40 illustrated essays by well-known experts on Hoffmann's most significant buildings, interiors, exhibitions, and craft and product design, covers all facets of his extensive oeuvre. Richly illustrated, it includes a detailed biography and a comprehensive documentation section, making this a new standard reference work.