MIES VAN DER ROHE AND THE WEISSENHOF

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GET STARTED

 “Architecture epitomises the human being’s spatial confrontation with his environment; it expresses how he asserts himself in it and how he manages to master it.” (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe)

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

• Born March 27, 1886 Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 

• Died August 17, 1969 (aged 83) Chicago, Illinois, USA 

• Nationality German 1886-1944/American 
  1944-1969 

• Awards Order Pour le Mérite (1959) Royal Gold Medal (1959) AIA Gold Medal (1960) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963) 

• Work Buildings Barcelona Pavilion Tugendhat House Crown Hall Farnsworth House 

  860-880 Lake Shore Drive Seagram Building New National Gallery Toronto-Dominion 

  Centre Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969)

SHORT INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE ARCHITECT

            Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed by his surname, Mies, by his colleagues, students, writers, and others. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, along with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of Modern architecture. Mies, like many of his post World War I contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential 20th century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strived towards an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing open space. He called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He sought a rational approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design. He is often associated with the aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details".


SIGNIFICANCE AND MEANING

Mies pursued an ambitious lifelong mission to create a new architectural language that could be used to represent the new era of technology and production. He saw a need for an architecture expressive of and in harmony with his epoch, just as Gothic architecture was for an era of spiritualism. He applied a disciplined design process using rational thought to achieve his spiritual goals. He believed that the configuration and arrangement of every architectural element must contribute to a unified expression. The self-educated Mies painstakingly studied the great philosophers and thinkers, past and present, to enhance his own understanding of the character and essential qualities of the technological times he lived in. More than perhaps any other practising pioneer of modernism, Mies mined the writings of philosophers and thinkers for ideas that were relevant to his architectural mission. Mies' architecture was created at a high level of abstraction, and his own generalized descriptions of his principles intentionally leave much room for interpretation. Yet his buildings also seem very direct and simple when viewed in person. Every aspect of his architecture, from overall concept to the smallest detail, supports his effort to express the modern age. The depth of meaning conveyed by his work, beyond its aesthetic qualities, has drawn many contemporary philosophers and theoretical thinkers to continue to further explore and speculate about his architecture.

DIE WEISSENHOFSIEDLUNG

  The Weissenhofsiedlung is considered one of the most important monuments of the "Neues Bauen" movement. It was created in 1927 as a building exhibition of Deutsche Werkbund and was funded by the City of Stuttgart. None of the subsequent expositions by Deutsche Werkbund achieved a comparable international charisma. Despite significant destruction during World War II, the ensemble of buildings today represents highly valued cultural heritage of the 20th century with early works of architects who shaped modern architecture. In some special way, Weissenhofsiedlung represents the social, aesthetic and technological changes following the end of World War I. Using the programmatic title "Die Wohnung" (The Housing), this Werkbund exposition demonstrated the renunciation from habitats characterized by pre-industrial periods. In these 33 houses with 63 apartments, a total of 17 architects from Germany, France, Holland, Belgium and Austria formulated their solutions for living arrangements of the modern big city dweller, coupled with the use and implementation of new building materials and effective construction methods. As part of this novel and overall urban concept, typical buildings for cost-effective mass production were created but also buildings of great architectural variety.