Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

PERSONAL
“Glass and Steel Architecture” HISTORY

Birth

• Aachan, Germany
• Parents : Michael Mies and
Amelie Van der Rohe

Early Career

• Apprenticed to his father in the •Moved to Berlin, where he worked

stone masonry from age of 15 to 19 for Bruno Paul,
years old. the art nouveau architect and
furniture designer.
..designed in the age of 21 years. The house
was built in 1907 for the philosophy
professor - Alois Riehl.
 • From 1908-11, Mies was apprenticed to Peter
Behrens, but left in 1912 to open his own architectural
office in Berlin.

Under Behren’s influence:

• ..began to develop his early sense of style which

was a cross of advanced structuralism and Prussian
classicism.

• Aethestically , he was interested in Russian

Constructivism and Dutch De Stijl neoplasticism.
Friedrichstrasse Office
Building
1921

Although it was never built, Mies' design for the

Friedrichstrasse Office Building remains one of the most
important structures in 20th century architecture.
 1925

.. was appointed VP of the Deutsche

Werkbund.

1926

.. given the task to head the Weissenhof Exhibition, a model housing colony in Stuttgart.

Barcelona chair
He believed that furniture plays an
important role in the design of a
building. The chair was a design for the
exhibition.
1929 The Barcelona Pavilion
1928 - 1929

Mies united sophisticated materials with a fluid open plan, which

together endowed the space with an unprecedented modern
elegance. The architecture's mass is balanced by a pond (featuring
a sculpture by Georg Kolb) nd a shallow pool on either end.
 Tugendhat House
1928 - 1930

The next year Mies designed the Turgend house in

Czechoslovakia
In 1930, Mies met New York architect Philip Johnson,
who included several of his projects in
MoMA’s first architecture exhibition held in 1932, 'modern
architecture: international exhibition', thanks to which
Mies’s work began to be known in the United States.

.. In 1930, he
became the
Bauhaus Director
and served this
position till 1933
when the Nazi Party
closed it down.
 Farnsworth House 1946 - 1951
1946 - 1951

One of his designed minimalist houses; completely enclosed in glass, a

transparent box framed by eight exterior steel columns.
 Masterpiece of skyscraper design
The Seagram Building , New York
1954-1958

Worked with
Architect Philip
Johnson
Symbol of
contemporary
industrial world,
illustrates the
architect's motto
"Less is more"
AWARDS
Philosophy

“Less is more” a phrase adopted in 1947 by

architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
"skin and bones" architecture
"God is in the details".
Mies architecture:
• with a minimal framework of structural
• unobstructed free-flowing open space.
He called his buildings. He sought an objective approach that
would guide the creative process of architectural design, but was
always concerned with expressing the spirit of the modern era.