FELIX PFEIFLE 

Traveling to me is a creative experience—merely the extension of an artistic life wherein I never look at things as set formulas, but as possible outcomes of creative combinations.  My travel life is like a recipe book in which I have all the ingredients laid out, as anyone else does, but every page is my own work.  I’ve never been one to accept the passive travel experience with locked itineraries, buses at absurd hours of morning and night, a total excess of activity planned by remote experts in the name of having seen something, such as the trophies of game hunters once collected on safaris.

Sometimes I travel to a specific country just to visit one palace or special building, because that building alone is worth two weeks of my time in historical and cultural interest.  It’s quite likely that the building is so expressive of the culture when it comes, were I never to see the rest of the country in which it sets again, I would probably have a refined sense of that country ethos by way of this one building, alone.

Specialities

Architecture (and the allied applied arts, such as interior and furniture design), landscape architecture / garden design (with special reference to notable estate gardens of Europe and the United States); History of Architecture and Arts; European history (with emphasis on Central Europe and the former Habsburg Empire, 1271-1918)

Geographic Expertise

Central and Western Europe – Specifically the former Habsburg / Austro-Hungarian Empire with focal points in Vienna, Prague, and Budapest (former capitals of the empire), stretching to all of Austria beyond, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovakia, Western Ukraine, Southern Poland (Cracow), Czech Republic, and.  Mr. Pfeifle lived in Vienna for one year while a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Vienna and, before that, one summer in the Western Austrian city of Bludenz. 

California – Mr. Pfeifle is a fifth generation native of California, from Northern California, residing in Hollywood. He continue to travel regularly to Vienna.  

About FELIX PFEIFLE

Based in Los Angeles, Felix Pfeifle founded his own interdisciplinary design firm, Office of Cultural Design, in 2005.  His experience spans from residential gardens to comprehensive architectural renovations for hospitality.  He holds a Masters in Interior Architecture from Pratt Institute, 1998.  In 1992 he was the recipient of a Fulbright Grant at the University of Vienna,  with a  focus on the early Modernist architect Adolf Loos.  Pfeifle also holds a Bachelor of Arts in the Humanities (focus: Austro-Hungarian Empire) from the University of California at Berkeley, 1992.  There Pfeifle competed in Thematic Interpretation speech, for which he won several awards.  Over the last decade he was the principal subject of a documentary film FELIX AUSTRIA! which premiered at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, 2013.  Pfeifle was art director of the film and also acted on green screen for the animated sequences in which his “Habsburg dreams” are depicted.

Pfeifle serves on the Board of Directors of the 82 year old Los Angeles Bach Festival, in charge of Donor Relations.  Pfeifle is also co-founder and board Vice-President of Modern ARTillery, an organization promoting new works of opera.  He is former Board President of the Greater Los Angeles Fulbright Alumni Association, having served on the board for over 10 years.  

About Voyadi Experience

We believe travel is a transformative experience.  We help our members to go beyond the ordinary from visiting extraordinary destinations, exploring authentic experiences, connecting with remarkable people, to immersing oneself with local culture.  Many travel destinations are accessible by anyone but only Voyadi offers intimate curated experience through hand-selected insiders.  The experience that we offer is unique and the serendipity encounters makes it truly memorable.