Ya - ; an fi. aeOrpnte: ang nvr deb, PREFACE CHILDHOOD IN THE RHINELAND AND EARLY DAYS IN BERLIN (1886-1914) Impressions from Aachen Peter Behrens and the Architecture of Industry The Krdller Maller Project, THEORETICAL PROJECTS. FOR THE METROPOLIS (1918-24) The FriedrichstraBo Skyserapor G and the Concrete O'fice Building ‘The Concrete Country House ‘The Brick Country House FOUNDATIONS OF A NEW DOMESTIC SPACE (1925-30) ies and Weimar Politics ‘Two Houses in Krefeld The Barcelona Feet Luxury st the Tugondhate FROM THE BAUHAUS TO THE THIRD REICH (1930-38) ‘Mies and the National Socialists CHICAGO AND AMERICAN PARADIGMS. (1938-56) Migs and the illinois Institute of Technology ‘The Farnsworth House Crown Hall Lake Shor rive: The Stoel Towers: INDUSTRIAL CLASSICISM (1956-69) ‘The Seagram Stele “The Skyscraper Variation Return to Berlin: The Newe Nationalgalerie The Poetics of Modernization Noes BIOGRAPHY PRINCIPAL PROJECTS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF PERSONS AND PROJECTS ILLUSTRATION CREDITS " v 2 % 27 34 36 38 4 45 56 64 n ry 90 98 9 10 118 125 140 ui 46 180 195, 188 v6 v9 182 188 woFOUNDATIONS OF A NEW DOMESTIC SPACE (1925-30) rset ae: dewrmert soe t comin Stes, sora ea ee Noten ten Yo Mies and Weimar Politics By the mid-1920s Mies van der Rohe was re- ognized as one of the uncontested leaders of modern architecture. He plunged into his professional life, and his commissions now {ave him the freedom to abandon the language of conservatism, towhich previous clients hed boundhim and to which ha was sll bound with the Mosler House. He finally Joined the Deutscher Werkbund, becoming vice president, andin April 926 he founded the Ring, an organ ination intendes to combat, in the name of the deals of modern architecture, the overly conservative Bund Deutscher Architekten [Association of German Architects). Having been 4 member of the regional board of the Burd since 1923, he resigned noisily in 1926, He directed the Ring activites in close col- laboration with Hugo Haring, who was other- wise removed from Mies in terms of ideas. Although, from that moment on, cients ac~ cepted the new directions of his architecture, not all the projeats went forward. The fist client, in 1925, was the painter Walter Dexel, whe was also dkector ofthe Kunstvereln [Art nian) in Jena, Dexel had always encouraged the work of radical architects, but he imme: diately quarroled with Mies, who required a schedule that was, in Dexel's opinion, overly long.’ Dated in several weeks, the project Isone cot simplest and clearest of thenoweycle inaugurated by the theoretical houses.lation of his theoretical position. He insisted (on the importance of the sprtual dimension e, rejecting points of view rilaters| and doe tion and standardization 1 idea of form “as. an end initset"™" On this point, he seemsto have been in agreement with Le met again in Stuttgart in 1926, siteen years busier, whim he ater their brief introduction at Betvens’s frm Impressed by Le Corbusier's houses at the WeiBenhotsieglung, which he feature promi rently as the figurehead of the group and which he Supported against the local authorities, Mie calles upon Le Corbusier to witness to functionalist postions, and fully embattled against the representatives ‘of Sachlchkele (objectivity), could but share them: nt Corus, then “In Germany, a country of organizers, above «ll it seemsto me necessary to the greatest clarity that architecture cannot be reduced te crude functionals. a Germany, derline with the fight agains te ratio than the fight inst the Academy For his part, Le Corbusier approached Mies ln 1928, during the formation ofthe board of patrons ofthe firs Modem Architecture (CIAM),."As the Stuttgart ‘model was taking shape, Mies lasting relationship with fashion stylist trained by Josef ternational Congress of gan long: iy Reich, an Hottn would havea profound effect on his professional and personal life Lill Reich hadknown bles since 1925 and has fully backed his applicston forthe past of chief rm; the City plarmerin Frankfurt, which was finally given involved in the ecisions and inthe work ofthe frm, she was to take part to Ernat May in many of Mies's projects, in particular the Interiors, exhibition design, and furniture, She also maraged his fda on the gis.” daily lie, as well a that of Two Houses in Krefeld Lily Reioh introduced Mies tothe industrial ist Hermann Lange, owner of the Nersinigte lg) silk-spin tor of mod: neo van Does: Seidenweebercien A.G, (or Verse ning mil and a very active col ‘ermart, who had intalyaskea burg to design his house. A me Deutscher Werkbund, Lange would support Mies’s work for ten years, first hiring him to bulldahouse at Krefel, 1927-30) fo this commission was added one for the house intended for loset Esters, Lange's friend and joint shareholder. Mies is opportunity to renew the principles usinga steel ber of the the Rube d ‘construction system. The fagades were made ‘of several solid pars and very complex metal frames that ellowed for the long spn of the the Wel House, bu window lintels. They were covered partially alazed Bockhorn brick, which were worked in ‘meticulous calpinage at @ seale of 1/20. The large windows that allowed for thase pieces of technical prowess brought light from the south into theThe Barcelona Feat After Stuttgart, Mies an Reich worked together forthe fashion exhibition Die Mode der Dame," wien took place in Berlin in the autumn of 1927, where they buit the Velvet and Sik Café Its space was defined by fabric screens and furnished with chairs from the Weifienhot siediung. They worked togetner again in 1929, in the German section of the International Exhibition in Barcelone. Hermann Lange saw toitthat the commission for the whole German. section was givento Mies its centerpiece was ‘8 pavilion that was not intended, es has often dwelling, but rather a8 place arranged for andby the requiremer been written, a8 a mod of official cerer recep ‘was @ building "without an obvious, tangible, te representation, anemply spe a space in itselt"” Precisely be nies, in particular the formal ion for the king of Spain, In short, it a building devoted ‘and thereby 32 of that, it was nevertheless a turning point in Mies's work and inthe architecture of the twentieth century thanks eapeeialy to\ihelm Niersann, the owner of the Berliner Bid B photographed the pavilion unc sion of Mies himself and distributed the pic tures widely. tf the superv- bya stream hés (and not only photographic ones) hat have been appropriately analyzed by juan Pablo Bonta.” The scrupulous reconstruction ofthe pavilion, comploted in 1986, has added 4 new dimension to the modern perception of the building, The re-created color seems rather forced, given thatthe black-and-white onthe aural authen this reverses Walter work of art in photographs had take tlelty Bonjamin’s hypothest the era of technical re lity” However, the opportunity of passing through the re ‘rested space ofthe paviken makestwo-dimen sional reproductions pale by comparison The paviion wes designed between Novernbe 1928 and February 1929 an a ste that Mies himself chose after having refused the location ‘roposed by the Spanish, From Mies's very mode! yards linked by a pavilio rtyard. The dis: g and space divid: weemration on @ sketches ~ now lost ~ a demountable shoned two ¢ tse resembling a cove junction of the load-bear ing elements and the coLuxury at the Tugendhats Designed while the Barcelona Pavilion was being built, the Tugerdhat House in eno con. solidated the architectural Gecisions made in Barcelona. The young American ertie Philip. Johnson told Oud of hisadization fortis build- ingin September 1930, when construction was most complete: "wish could communicate the Feeling of see Ingthe Brinn [Bro] House of Mes. Ihave only had similar architectural experiences before [ot] the Hoek and in olé things lke the Parthenon. Of course such things should not be talkod about because thareentors inte thom ‘80 much that is extraneous, such as having studied Greek or being acquainted with the prophetic nature of Mies’ own character. In ‘American slang, the Brinn House is swell” “The recently married, wealthy couple Grete and Frite Tugendhat were friends of Eduard Fuchs, ‘They were doubtless disappointed if thoy ‘expected Mies to design another Perts House, ‘They went with theie architect to visit the ‘Kroteld and Guben houses. Contrary to the rather disparaging accounts that he liked to sive of them afterward, the Tugendhats seam 10 have fuily committed themselves to builde ing ahouse that would unleash vcient polemics ‘even amang the champions of Neves Bauen. Infact, the Tugendhat House was cota minimal, reproducible house, like Le Corbusier's house inthe Weissenhofsiedlung (although it did have ‘Some affinities with that house and with the ‘Villa Stein) but positively umurious residence. This was more then some critics could bear, {In September 1928, when he was designing the Barcolona Pavilion, Mies went to inspect the Tugendhats'plt of ground at Schwarzfeide {eas8e, overlooking the ancient Moravian city ‘of Brno, It nad been given to Grote Law-Beor by her parents on the occasion of her marriage to Fritz Tugendhat. Both families were textile. rrillownersinan industrial center where mod- lem architecture had strongly taken root.” A clase echo of the pavilion in Barcelona, the house was criticized by Julius Blerin Die Form for boing “showpiece architecture." Same ‘components - the onyxparition, the cruciform columns, andthe large plate-glass windows. = ate identical te the Barcelona Pavilion, and the layout also echoes the pavilion in several respects, such as the conservatory along the end wall of the building, inthe position oceu- npeate pa tromine geden eseatepas, stom: Fran rte Togencot ome pn pp pied in Barcelona by a smal! courtyard.” Al inal, the house isthe more complex and the ‘more dramatic ofthe two because of the sur prises it affords and its incorporation of the elements of the site, such as the large weep- Ing wilow that conters the fagade onthe down- hil sige, The slope of the land, accessed from the top and facing southwest, made it possibietocon- ‘cea the verticalty of the three-story house: ‘only the top floors visible at stveot level. The ‘opening between the garage andthe bedrooms ‘frames a view of the city, thus indicating the Importance ofthe view in the design of the ‘main om. From the entrance lobby, a stait- case encased in frosted glass leads down to ‘hereception rooms, ulus Posener crew atten- ‘ion to this arrangement, which goes against ‘traditional rules; guests cut across the access route between the bedrooms and the living rooms.” From the foot of ths staircase, the visitor sees the music room straight ahead and 2 view of the city diagonally ahead, framed ‘nthe right by a wooden cylindrical form and ‘on the left by a polished onyx partition that reflects the outdoor ight. nFROM THE BAUHAUS TO THE THIRD REICH (1930-38) ies van der Robes attitude inthe fest months led Sybil Moholy Nagy, thirty of years later, to consider him a “traiter." Ise Gropius reproached him for suppasecly sup- porting the régime, forgetting the efforts that Walter Gropius made to stay in Germany What really was the relationship between Mies's career and German poltcs during the decade Nazir before nis int from Europe? Te directorship of the Bavhous, its foundation in Weimar in 1919, was first offered to Mies in 1928, and in the end was taken by Hannes Meyer. Two year later, after Meyer had boen driven from the post for polit ical reasons,’ Mies accepted the renewed offer from Mayor Fritz Hesse of Dessau and from Gropius, who tls hin “Without yout wil crum- ble.”‘ As it happens, philanthropic reasons seem to have counted for less than material by Walter Gropius since ‘ones, so slim were the economic prospects for ‘Mige's practice: Germany had been stricken by econo roetona and Brno was finished; and his competition entries failed to yield resuits. He wes eppointed for ‘five-year term on & August 1930. criss; his work in The fist encounter between Mies and his stu dents was a disaster. Theditector calledin the police to control the left-wing students, Who were seething with resentment at the evic: tion of Meyer, Twenty of them were expelle. However, in a way Mies wes only continuing the policies of his predecessor. Meyer hacatleast othes hanger in here} theoretical re becomes a major problem, because ation with Myron maple‘The regular arrangement of metal columns recalled tne 1929 pavilion, but the valls that ‘extended beyond te lst roof, pening out the intemal space, were more reminiscent of the Brick Country House. The onyx partition also ‘appeared, but inthe ayindrcal form of the wooden screen in the Tugendhat House. One of the walls enclosing the dining corner was ‘made of glass and could side dowm into the floor ike the windows in Brno ardin the Henke House expansion, which Mies had completed the previous yearn Essen. There was no daor between the living space and the two sleep- ing reas, which were separated by the block (of the bathroom. The smaller of these bed- rooms looked out over an ornamental poo), bordered by a statue by Kolbe. This ephemeral ull did not go unnoticed, ad the American historian Herry-Russell Hitchcock noted that it "stands out like that of Schinkel in old Ber- lin" Lily Reich's house fora couple without chikiren ina more compact L shape, was con- ‘ected to Mles’s house by a courtyard and used the same furniture. Reich also fitted out an apartment inthe collective building on pilois which dominated the exhibition. ‘Shorty ater this exhibition, Mies was invited ‘by Herbert Garicks, the director othe German ‘Academy in Rome, take part ina competition to design the house he intended to build in Bertin Wannsee. The design recallsthe outline ‘ofthe Bro house, certain elements of the golf lubrouse, and especially, inthe development ofits ramifications from a central core, the projects of the early 1920s. The relationship se Prot rhe here Ospote see to ‘Sern House, Borir- Hotennortinaey, 32, Weve, 933,ret anor ven eojert Sie aoe inevan fF Mdan Ar New or Oppose boon fe ppc pas eur ee a Lene Hos, {i come of srg with nature was fundamental: the whole liv. ing area, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, was dominated by the landscape ofthe lake. Considered alongside this spacious and tux- turious project, the one that Mies designed for the printer and art collector Karl Lemke ‘om another lakeside site, on the shore of the Oversee in the Hohenschnhausen district Of Berlin, is pale by comparison. After a se of designs involving almost completely en- closed variations around a courtyard, the Lemke House wes actually built in 1932-33, the only completed project in a long series of designs for courtyard houses. Moreover, it remains practically intact today.”Ina limited num der tothe fg by the warmth allows the tiontobe7, wyLudwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was one of the key figures in 20th century architecture, shaping and defining the development of Madernism. This book traces the multi-facetted life and monumental achievements of Mies, and reviews the lasting influence of his work: the first buildings in Berlin, his villas, his visionary designs for high-rise buildings and theoretical pro- jects for the metropolis; his activities at the Bauhaus up to its closure by the National Socialists; his emigration and experiences in America which ultimately resulted in the first high-rises built of steel; finally his return to Berlin to realize the building of the Neue Nationalgalerie. “His architectural work, built and unbullt, designed over six decades of professional activity, is shaped by a philosophy of construction and the definition of new spaces, which is inseparable from a concem for order, both structural and monumental, He is a solitary figure whose work was rooted in the technology and ethos of the second machine age.” (from the preface) Jean-Louis Cohen was the director ofthe institut frangais architecture from 1998 to 2003, ‘ands curently a professor in the History of Architecture at ew York University. The author of large publications sbout Le Corbusier and the European-American history of architecture and urban planning has an established reputation asa leading international historian of architecture. Wn 607346