Designer Desire: Mies van der Rohe

Portrait of Mies van der Rhoe
credit

Last week we featured a gorgeous Detroit townhouse designed by a very famous architect. It was only then that we realised that we’d never really highlighted him – just the occasional mention in passing about some of the furniture that he designed.

Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) is probably the most influential modernist architect to have ever lived – and we’re not saying that lightly. The skyscraper would not be what it is today without his forward-thinking ideas. The concept drawing (first image below) was created with the idea of using soaring glass and steel on the outside of a building – something that had never been done before. It was 1921 and the architectural world wasn’t ready; the design he submitted was unsuccessful.

He was a contemporary of other eminent Bauhaus architects and designers such as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer, Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy. He become director of the Bauhaus in 1930, remaining until he emigrated to Chicago in 1937 to become head of the architecture department at Illinois Institute of Technology.

You get an understanding of Mies van der Rohe, his methods and his beliefs from some of the quotes that have been attributed to him:

We must be as familiar with the functions of our building as with our materials. We must learn what a building can be, what it should be, and also what it must not be

We must be as familiar with the functions of our building as with our materials. We must learn what a building can be, what it should be, and also what it must not be

Architecture has the power to create order out of unholy confusion

We’ve selected just a few of jis many and varied ground-breaking buildings; he’s designed houses, apartment blocks, a kiosk, a petrol station and a public library.

We’ve placed them in chronological order, according to the date they were completed, to illustrate his progression.

Unsuccessful 1921 design entry for the Friedrichstrasse skyscraper competition
Unsuccessful 1921 design entry for the Friedrichstrasse skyscraper competition
German Pavilion designed for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain
German Pavilion designed for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain
Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic. Built between 1929 & 1930
Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic. Built between 1929 & 1930
Interior of Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic
Interior of Villa Tugendhat in Brno, Czech Republic
Kiosk built in 1932 as part of the Bauhaus buildings, Dessau
Kiosk built in 1932 as part of the Bauhaus buildings, Dessau
Landhaus Lemke, built in 1933 in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Berlin
Landhaus Lemke, built in 1933 in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Berlin
Landhaus Lemke, built in 1933 in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Berlin
Landhaus Lemke, built in 1933 in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, Berlin
Farnsworth House, designed & built between 1945 and 1951 in Plano, Illinois
Farnsworth House, designed & built between 1945 and 1951 in Plano, Illinois
Interior of Farnsworth House, designed & built between 1945 and 1951 in Plano, Illinois
Interior of Farnsworth House, designed & built between 1945 and 1951 in Plano, Illinois
860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, completed in 1951 and situated on the Shore of Lake Michigan in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois
860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments, completed in 1951 and situated on the Shore of Lake Michigan in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois
S. R. Crown Hall (built 1950–1956) - College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois
S. R. Crown Hall (built 1950–1956) – College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois
Seagram Building, 375 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1958
Seagram Building, 375 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1958
Gas station, Nun's Island, Montreal - 1969
Gas station, Nun’s Island, Montreal – 1969
Gas station, Nun's Island, Montreal - 1969
Gas station, Nun’s Island, Montreal – 1969
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington DC, completed in 1972
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington DC, completed in 1972

Additional image credits:

MOMA | Wikiarquitectura | Wikipedia

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