| (b. Aachen, Germany 1886; d.
Chicago, Illinois 1969)
Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe was born in Aachen,
Germany in 1886. He worked in the family stone-carving business before he
joined the office of Bruno Paul in Berlin. He entered the studio of Peter
Behrens in 1908 and remained until 1912.
Under Behrens' influence, Mies developed a
design approach based on advanced structural techniques and Prussian
Classicism. He also developed a sympathy for the aesthetic credos of both
Russian Constructivism and the Dutch De Stijl group. He borrowed from the
post and lintel construction of Karl Friedrich Schinkel for his designs in
steel and glass.
Mies worked with the magazine G which
started in July 1923. He made major contributions to the architectural
philosophies of the late 1920s and 1930s as artistic director of the
Werkbund-sponsored Weissenhof project and as Director of the Bauhaus.
Famous for his dictum 'Less is More', Mies
attempted to create contemplative, neutral spaces through an architecture
based on material honesty and structural integrity. Over the last twenty
years of his life, Mies achieved his vision of a monumental 'skin and
bone' architecture. His later works provide a fitting denouement to a life
dedicated to the idea of a universal, simplified architecture
Mies died in Chicago, Illinois in 1969.
References
Dennis Sharp. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture.
New York: Quatro Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0-8230-2539-X. NA40.I45. p109.
Recipient of the American Institute of
Architects Gold Medal, 1960 |