Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (born as Maria Ludwig Michael Mies, was born on March 27, 1886, the son of a stonemason, in Aachen, Germany. He is commonly referred to, and was addressed, as Mies, his surname.
Mies began his architectural career as an apprentice at the studio of Peter Behrens from 1908 to 1912. He served as construction manager of the Embassy of the German Empire in Saint Petersburg under Behrens. He developed there a style that was simple in design, where elegant form was always backed up by versatile function.
Mies worked alongside Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, and was later also involved with them in the development of the Bauhaus. A design school that operated from 1919 to 1933 in Germany, Bauhaus promoted modernism and is widely regarded as the most influential art school of the 20th century.
After The First World War, as a young architect and designer in Berlin, Mies foreshadowed modern architecture with innovative designs for tubular-steel furniture (the cantilevered Barcelona chair (1929)) and steel and glass skyscrapers which demonstrated his interest in technological innovation and beautiful form.
Mies' starkly simple German Pavilion at the International Exposition in Barcelona in 1929 crystallised public acceptance of modern architecture.
Mies served as director of the Bauhaus in Dessau between 1930-33, which he closed after Nazi threats.
After Nazism's rise to power, and with its strong opposition to modernism, Mies went to the United States in 1937. He accepted the position to found and head the architectural school at the Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago. He designed the institute's master plan and a number of campus buildings.
Though he had built only 19 buildings, Mies was internationally famous when he moved to the USA. His most notable designs there include the glass Lake Shore Drive Apartments, Chicago (1948-51), the bronze-and-glass Seagram Building in New York (with Philip Johnson, 1954-58), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1958, 1973).
Mies celebrated contemporary technology and materials; under his influence, skyscraper construction switched from masonry to metal and glass. His rising, rectangular structures were characterized by accessible, simple designs devoid of applied ornament and were composed of spaces rather than masses. Mies sought to make the buildings of his day as distinct and unique to their era as Classical and Gothic designs.
Mies was famous for a design statement he made "less is more" meaning that less visual clutter makes for a more satisfying environment.
"God is in the details" was another of Mies' favorite aphorisms.
In 1913, Mies married Adele Auguste (Ada) Bruhn (1885-1951), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. The couple separated in 1918, after having three daughters: Dorothea, Marianne and Waltraut. During his military service in 1917, Mies fathered a son out of wedlock.
Mies later carried on a high-profile relationship with German designer Lilly Reich, which ended when he moved to the United States.
From 1940 until his death, artist Lora Marx (1900-1989) was his primary companion.
Mies van der Rohe died on August 17, 1969. After cremation, his ashes were buried near Chicago's other famous architects in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery.
Source Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999.
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| Mies. Wikipedia |
Mies began his architectural career as an apprentice at the studio of Peter Behrens from 1908 to 1912. He served as construction manager of the Embassy of the German Empire in Saint Petersburg under Behrens. He developed there a style that was simple in design, where elegant form was always backed up by versatile function.
Mies worked alongside Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, and was later also involved with them in the development of the Bauhaus. A design school that operated from 1919 to 1933 in Germany, Bauhaus promoted modernism and is widely regarded as the most influential art school of the 20th century.
After The First World War, as a young architect and designer in Berlin, Mies foreshadowed modern architecture with innovative designs for tubular-steel furniture (the cantilevered Barcelona chair (1929)) and steel and glass skyscrapers which demonstrated his interest in technological innovation and beautiful form.
Mies' starkly simple German Pavilion at the International Exposition in Barcelona in 1929 crystallised public acceptance of modern architecture.
 |
| Barcelona Pavilion 1929 reconstruction. By Hans Peter Schaefer - Own work |
Mies served as director of the Bauhaus in Dessau between 1930-33, which he closed after Nazi threats.
After Nazism's rise to power, and with its strong opposition to modernism, Mies went to the United States in 1937. He accepted the position to found and head the architectural school at the Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago. He designed the institute's master plan and a number of campus buildings.
Though he had built only 19 buildings, Mies was internationally famous when he moved to the USA. His most notable designs there include the glass Lake Shore Drive Apartments, Chicago (1948-51), the bronze-and-glass Seagram Building in New York (with Philip Johnson, 1954-58), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1958, 1973).
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| 860–880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. By User:JeremyA |
Mies celebrated contemporary technology and materials; under his influence, skyscraper construction switched from masonry to metal and glass. His rising, rectangular structures were characterized by accessible, simple designs devoid of applied ornament and were composed of spaces rather than masses. Mies sought to make the buildings of his day as distinct and unique to their era as Classical and Gothic designs.
Mies was famous for a design statement he made "less is more" meaning that less visual clutter makes for a more satisfying environment.
"God is in the details" was another of Mies' favorite aphorisms.
In 1913, Mies married Adele Auguste (Ada) Bruhn (1885-1951), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. The couple separated in 1918, after having three daughters: Dorothea, Marianne and Waltraut. During his military service in 1917, Mies fathered a son out of wedlock.
Mies later carried on a high-profile relationship with German designer Lilly Reich, which ended when he moved to the United States.
From 1940 until his death, artist Lora Marx (1900-1989) was his primary companion.
Mies van der Rohe died on August 17, 1969. After cremation, his ashes were buried near Chicago's other famous architects in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery.
Source Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999.
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