Mies van der Rohe is a landmark survey, offering a nuanced and deeply researched account of the career and life of the iconic modern architect
Who taught Mies van der Rohe?
Dietrich Neumann: Most importantly, it was Peter Behrens, a painter and architect in Berlin, for whom Mies worked from 1908-1910 and again, from 1911-1912, when he was executing his first commissions on his own. I suspect Mies picked up ideas about careful detailing there, the concept of structural honesty, a love for brick, but he might have also learned how to promote his ideas, make his work widely known, and how to stay visible in the discourse.
What was Mies van der Rohe’s design philosophy?
DN: My favorite quote from Mies is: “Architecture begins, when you put two bricks – carefully – together.” He said that in 1958 in a conversation with Christian Norberg-Schulz. As simple as it sounds, this, in my eyes, is still valid advice for architecture students today, as it suggests an emphasis on the craft of building and the fact that even the most mundane details are worthy of our attention. Mies also, supposedly, said “Less is More” (more likely it was Philip Johnson who suggested this phrase), which hinted at his desire to reduce every element of a building to its utmost essence.
Was Mies van der Rohe a minimalist?
DN: Yes, he is usually considered a minimalist, perhaps even the inventor of minimalism in architecture, and in many ways that is true. In his best buildings, he would reduce elements to their absolute essence. For example, in the German Pavilion at the Barcelona World’s Fair of 1929, the supporting columns are reflective, slim and cruciform, almost invisible. There are no traditional windows, but rather there is simply the absence of a solid wall, replaced by large single panes of glass. Instead of light sources suspended from the ceiling or attached to the walls, we find there one continuous luminous wall, whose two layers of translucent glass have a grid of suspended light bulbs between them. The Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois of 1951 is essentially a beautifully proportioned glass box held aloft by a strong white steel frame. It was, at first, not very practical to live in (hot in the summer and cold in the winter), but so photogenic that it was imitated countless times elsewhere. Eventually the technology of air conditioning caught up with the owners of such glass houses and made them more livable (if not exactly environmentally sensible). Along those lines, it is important to note that the apparent minimalism and simplicity of many of his designs and their detailing was paid for with complicated and expensive solutions behind the scenes.
What did Mies van der Rohe’s contemporaries think of him?
DN: His gospel of utmost simplicity, combined with his calm, self-assured demeanor, seems to have been a perfect response to the chaotic times of the Weimar Republic in Germany. His evocative visionary projects were widely reproduced and made him well known. Compared to other architecture firms, however, his actual output of buildings was quite small. His multiple designs for luxurious homes were criticized as being tone-deaf in the years of economic hardship after the Great Depression.
In the giddy excitement of the economic boom in postwar America, he again managed to project an image of himself and his approach to architecture was a perfect response to its time. His image of a taciturn, cigar-smoking philosopher-architect who developed a carefully crafted industrial aesthetic for apartment houses, office towers and museums, provided a reassuring, steady timelessness for an American Century of superior technology and great feats of engineering.
In which ways does your new book on Mies van der Rohe differ from the many other books that have already been written about him?
DN: Well, first of all, with 450 pages and about 450 illustrations, it is one the most substantial biographies on Mies ever published. It brings together much recent research on Mies, discoveries by colleagues of mine and myself. Among those discoveries are a number of previously unknown buildings and projects in the cities of Aachen, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart and Indianapolis, there are unknown furniture designs and even patents for photographic wallpaper by Mies.
Most importantly, my book is decidedly not a hagiography, and it stays away from speculative interpretations. Rather, it is based on archival research and a certain Sachlichkeit (matter-of-fact-ness) in its interpretations. It looks at the critical reception of Mies in his time, places his work in the context of his contemporaries and takes the conditions of architectural production into account. It turns out that Mies was superbly skillful in controlling the discourse around his buildings and influencing his image in the media.
Dietrich Neumann is professor of the history of modern architecture and urban studies at Brown University.
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