LUDWIEG MIES VAN DER ROHE BY ANIRUDDH BABBAR
INDEX •
PREFACE
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LEGACY.
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HIS LIFE.
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HIS SIGNIFICANCE.
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HIS WORK ARCHITECTURE.
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HIS MAJOR CONCEPTS.
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BIBLOGRAPHY.
PREFACE THIS PRESENTATION IS TO CONVEY THE LIFE HISTORY, THE WORKS OF THE ARCHITECT S’IR MIES VAN DER ROHE, HIS LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS, EARLY LIFE AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS WORK IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD AND THE STUDIES OF THE ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS
LEGACY • 1886—MIES VAN DER ROHE IS BORN • 1905---MOVES TO BERLIN • 1907---RIEHL HOUSE (HIS FIRST PROJECT) • 1917---URBIG HOUSE (HIS FIRST OWN DESIGN) • 1926---HE MET LE CORBUSIER IN STUTTGART, GERMANY • 1929---HE STARTED DESIGNING FURNITURE • 1937---HE MET FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT • 1951---COMPLETED FARNSWORTH HOUSE. • 1958—GAVE MASTER PLAN OF IILINOIS INSTITITE OF TECHNOLOGY • 1958---RETIRES FROM IIT & GAVE SEAGRAM TOWERS • 1969---HE DIED IN ILLINOIS, CHICAGO
HIS LIFE • LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE (BORN MARIA LUDWIG MICHAEL MIES; MARCH 27, 1886 – AUGUST 17, 1969) WAS A GERMAN-AMERICAN ARCHITECT. HE IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AND WAS ADDRESSED AS MIES, HIS SURNAME. ALONG WITH LE CORBUSIER, WALTER GROPIUS ANDFRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, HE IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE PIONEERS 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 TWENTIETH-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 STROVE TOWARD 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, BUT HE WAS ALWAYS CONCERNED WITH EXPRESSING THE SPIRIT OF THE MODERN ERA. HE IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH HIS QUOTATION OF THE APHORISMS, "LESS IS MORE " AND "GOD IS IN THE DETAILS".
HIS SIGNIFICANCE • 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 BELIEVED THAT THE CONFIGURATION AND ARRANGEMENT OF EVERY ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT, PARTICULARLY INCLUDING THE CHARACTER OF ENCLOSED SPACE, MUST CONTRIBUTE TO A UNIFIED EXPRESSION.. • ONE NOTABLE WAY THAT MIES CONNECTED HIS BUILDINGS WITH NATURE WAS BY EXTENDING OUTDOOR PLAZA TILES INTO THE FLOOR OF A LOBBY, SYNTHESIZING THE EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SPACES OF THE SITE. THE DEVICE ACCENTUATED THE EFFORTLESS FLOW BETWEEN NATURAL CONDITIONS AND ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURES. THIS CHARACTERISTIC IS OFTEN FOUND IN HIS LARGE BUILDING PROJECTS SUCH AS THE SEAGRAM BUILDING. • THE SELF-EDUCATED MIES PAINS TAKINGLY 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. • 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.
HIS WORK
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON
CHICAGO FEDERAL COMPLEX
FARNSWORTH HOUSE, CHICAGO
RIEHL HOUSE
SEAGRAM BUILDINGS, NEW YORK
LAKE SHORE BUILDING
HIS MAJOR CONCEPTS • FLUID SPACE • SEAMLESS FLOW BETWEEN INDOORS AND OUTDOORS. • STEEL-AND-GLASS STYLE. • LESS IS MORE • GOD IS IN THE DETAILS • SIMPLE DESIGN • MINIMILISTIC COMPLEX SPACES • TRADITIONALISM TO MODERNISM • USE OF PURE FORMS • USE OF TRUTH OF THE MATERIALS
BIBLOGRAPHY • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe • http://www.miessociety.org/legacy/ • http://www.miessociety.org/legacy/projects/