Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of modern architecture, especially the International Style, which he helped define with his minimalist and elegant designs. He was also a prominent educator, who headed the architecture department at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) for 20 years and mentored many future architects. Mies was born in Aachen, Germany, in 1886. He grew up in a family of craftsmen and learned the basics of design and construction from his father, who was a master mason and stonecutter. He did not receive any formal architectural training, but he worked as an apprentice and draughtsman for several local architects before moving to Berlin in 1905. There he joined the office of Bruno Paul, a leading interior designer, and later worked for Peter Behrens, one of the founders of the Deutscher Werkbund, an association of artists and designers that aimed to improve the quality of German industrial products. In 1912, Mies opened his own architectural practice in Berlin. He soon gained recognition for his innovative residential projects, such as the Riehl House (1907), the Perls House (1911), and the Urbig House (1917). He also designed several office buildings, such as the Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper (1921), which was one of the first proposals for a glass-and-steel high-rise building. He became involved with various avant-garde movements, such as Expressionism, Constructivism, and the Bauhaus. He was also a founding member of the Der Ring group of progressive architects and the director of the influential Weissenhof Estate exhibition in 1927. In 1929, Mies achieved international fame with his design for the German Pavilion at the Barcelona International Exposition. The pavilion was a masterpiece of simplicity and sophistication, featuring a fluid layout of horizontal planes and vertical columns, and a harmonious combination of luxurious materials, such as marble, onyx, travertine, and chrome. The pavilion also showcased Mies' iconic Barcelona chair, which he designed with his collaborator and partner Lilly Reich. In 1930, Mies was appointed as the director of the Bauhaus school of art and design, which had moved from Weimar to Dessau and then to Berlin due to political pressure from the Nazi regime. Mies tried to preserve the spirit and legacy of the Bauhaus, but he also reorganized its curriculum and faculty to emphasize architecture and technology. He also designed several buildings for the school, such as the Dessau campus (1925-26), the Barcelona Pavilion (1929), and the Tugendhat House (1930) in Brno, Czechoslovakia. However, he was forced to close the Bauhaus in 1933 due to Nazi persecution. In 1937, Mies emigrated to the United States, where he was invited to head the architecture department at IIT in Chicago. He soon became one of the leading figures of American modernism, along with Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. He developed his own distinctive style of steel-and-glass architecture, which he applied to various types of buildings, such as academic campuses, office towers, apartment complexes, cultural centers, and private houses. Some of his most famous works in America include the IIT campus (1939-58), the Farnsworth House (1945-51) in Plano, Illinois, the Seagram Building (1954-58) in New York, the Crown Hall (1950-56) at IIT, the Lake Shore Drive Apartments (1948-51) in Chicago, the New National Gallery (1962-68) in Berlin, and the Toronto-Dominion Centre (1963-69) in Toronto. Mies was also a prolific and influential furniture designer, who created several iconic pieces, such as the Barcelona chair (1929), the Brno chair (1930), the MR series (1927), the Tugendhat chair (1930), and the Barcelona table (1929). He often collaborated with Lilly Reich, who was his partner from 1925 to 1937, and Florence Knoll, who was his student and later his colleague. His furniture designs were characterized by their elegant simplicity, geometric forms, and use of industrial materials, such as tubular steel, leather, and glass. Mies died in Chicago in 1969, at the age of 83. He was widely honored and acclaimed for his contributions to architecture and design. He received several awards, such as the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (1959), the AIA Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects (1960), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963). He also influenced generations of architects and designers, such as Philip Johnson, Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Richard Meier, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, and Zaha Hadid. His buildings and furniture are still admired and used today as examples of modern excellence.