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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
1886-1969
Architect, furniture designer and educator. One of the four great "form givers"
of the 20th century. Famed for his quote "Less is more", and for his steel and glass "International Style" modern architecture, now known as "Miesian".
He was born in Germany, trained as a stonemason in his father's shop, and apprenticed with furniture designer Bruno Paul from 1905 to 1907. He trained
with Peter Behrens 1908-1912 and established his own Berlin office in 1912, which he maintained until 1938. He was a member of the Deutsche Werkbund
from 1921. He designed the glass and steel German pavilion and his famous "Barcelona" chairs for the Barcelona International Exhibition in 1927. That
same year he planned a major modern home design exhibition called the Weissenhof Siedlung (Weissenhof Estate) which included his designs for a model
apartment as well as for tubular cantilever steel chairs. He designed a private home for the Tugendhat family in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and the furniture
for it. He was the third and last director of the Bauhaus from 1930 at Dessau, and then in Berlin until 1933, when it was closed by the Nazis. He
emigrated to the US in 1938, designed buildings (including Crown Hall) starting 1940 for the Illinois Institute of Technology (Armour Institute until
1940) and became its Director of Architecture in 1948. He designed the Farnsworth House in Plano IL in 1950 and the Seagram Building in New York in 1958
in collaboration with Philip Johnson. He died in Chicago.
Location:
IDSA: What is ID: 100 Years of Design |
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Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig
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architect, designer, urban planner
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2 oct 2000
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Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with Lilly Reich on Lake Michigan in the 50s. Photo Domus 697/88
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Aachen, Germany, 29/3/1886 Chicago, IL, Usa, 17/8/1969
German architect and designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is considered, alongside Le Corbusier, Gropius and Wright, one of the greats of
the Modern Movement. He used many new materials such as steel, reinforced concrete and glass and always remained faithful to the idea that true architecture
is impartial and an expression of its own time.
After having worked in his fathers shop, in 1908 Mies entered the studio of Peter Behrens where he met Le Corbusier and Gropius and
came to know the work of Schinkel. In 1913 he opened a studio in Berlin and in 1918 joined the Novembergruppe with Bruno Taut, Gropius, Mendelsohn and Hilberseimer.
In 1929 Mies van der Rohe built the German Pavilion at the Barcelona Expo; from 1930 to 1933 (the year in which it finally closed), he
was head of the Bauhaus. In 1937 he moved to the United States on the invitation of Stanley Resort; in Chicago became head of the Faculty of Architecture of ITT (Illinois Institute of Technology) and opened
his new studio.
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