Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Chicago Tribute. , Ludwig Mies van der Rohe , Architect , 1886 - 1969 , The master of Modern architecture and one of the greatest architects of the 20th Century, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe reshaped the skylines of America’s major cities in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s., In 1937, Mies came to Chicago from Berlin to be director of the Department of Architecture at the Armour Institute, now the Illinois Institute of Technology. In Germany, he had directed the Bauhaus School of Design from 1930 to 1933, closing it after Nazi threats. Though he had built only 19 buildings, he was internationally famous when he came to Chicago. At IIT through 1958, he designed the institute’s master plan and a number of campus buildings (Crown Hall model shown above)., Mies celebrated contemporary technology and materials; under his influence, skyscraper construction switched from masonry to metal and glass. Following his credo, “less is more,” his buildings were characterized by refined designs devoid of applied ornament. Mies also applied his aesthetic to such furniture designs as the Barcelona chair. , Mies’ starkly simple German Pavilion at the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona crystallized public acceptance of the modern architecture that became known as the International Style. In Chicago, notable Mies buildings include the Federal Center, One IBM Plaza, 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive Apartments, and Promontory Apartments (5530 South Shore Drive). For much of his life, Mies lived at 200 East Pearson Street. ,