Sobotka, Walter

Walter S. Sobotka was born on July 1, 1888 in Vienna. He was the son of Dr. Ignaz and Hedwig Sobotka. Sobotka attended the Franz-Josef-Gymnasium in Vienna, graduating in 1907. He then enrolled at the Technischen Hochschule Wien, studying under Karl König. He completed his degree in 1912 with the title of Engineer-Architect. Sobotka served as an officer in the Austrian army during World War I. After the war, from 1919 to 1923, he worked for the Viennese firm of Karl Korn while also producing grave monuments and furniture for his family in Vienna and Czechoslovakia. In 1919, he married Gisela Schoenau. Their daughter Ruth was born in 1925 and later became a dancer with the New York City Ballet under Balanchine, as well as a costume designer and actress.

After leaving Korn's firm, Sobotka began to make a name for himself with some larger residential projects, eventually designing the interiors for Peter Behrens's house at the Weisenhoff Siedlung built for the Deutscher Werkbund Seidlung in Stuttgart [1927]. He also designed two large housing projects for the city of Vienna and two houses for the 1932 Österreichischer Wekbund Seidlung. Sobotka was very involved with the Austrian Werkbund and served as vice-chairman of the board of directors for two years. Exhibitions, mostly of furniture, constituted another important part of Sobotka's practice, and in 1937 he designed the Austrian Pavilion for the World Exposition in Paris.

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