[2] Engelmann was born at Olmütz (Olomouc), Moravia in 1891, and studied with the modernist architect Adolf Loos in Vienna.

[3] After the end of World War I, Engelmann maintained an active career as an architect in Europe and designed private houses in various cities.

[3] In November 1925, Wittgenstein's sister Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein commissioned Engelmann, to design and build a large town house in Vienna in the Kundmanngasse.

He convinced Engelmann that he could realise his sister's intentions much better and was eventually asked to be the architect of the house.

He dedicated less time to his architectural work, instead focusing on writing about his experiences with Loos, Kraus and Wittgenstein, but in 1947 he designed the interiors of the Jordanian Parliament and the throne hall of King Abdulla in Amman, Jordan.