American University Of
Technology
Mies van der rohe
Presented By: Ghaviyotta koussa
ID: 201800442
Ludwig Mies van der rohe
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Ludwig Mies van der rohe (1886-1969) was
a pioneering German-American architect
widely regarded as one of the masters of
modern architecture. He’s famous for this
minimalist and functional designed for
coining the phrase “less is more”
Early life: Born in Aachen, Germany, Mies began his architectural career
working in his father’s stone-carving shop and later for architect Peter
Behrens, where he was influenced by modern industrial design.
Bauhaus: Mies was the last director of the Bauhaus, a major school of design
and architecture in Germany before it was closed by the Nazis in 1993.
Emigration to the U.S: He moved to the U.S and became the head of
architecture at the Illinois institute of Technology , where he also designed
the campus and several buildings.
Core Elements of Mies’
Philosophy:
Truth to materials: Mies believed that materials should be used
in a way that honors their nature. Exam: steel should look like
steel, not be covered or disguised.
Open space: He pioneered the use of open floor plans, often
using steel frames and glass walls to create flexible, flowing
interiors.
Universal architecture: He aimed to create spaces that were
rational, ordered, and timeless-free from historical styles or
cultural decoration.
Structural clarity: The structure of a building should be visible
and understandable. His designed often make the skeleton of the
building part of the aesthetic.
The philosophy of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe center on simplicity, clarity and
the honest use of materials. His architectural approach was rooted in
modernism and is best captured by two famous phrases associated with him:
“Less is more” this reflected his belief in
minimalism-stripping architecture down to its
essential elements to achieve beauty through
simplicity. He avoided ornamentation, focusing
instead on proportion, precision and space.
“God is in the details” while his building
look simple, they are executed with incredible
attention to detail. Every line, joint and
material junction is carefully considered.
Famous works:
Barcelona Pavilion (1929)-an iconic example of modern
architecture.
Farnsworth House (1952)-a minimalist glass-and-steel home in
Illinois.
Seagram Building (1958, with Philip Johnson)-a skyscraper in
New York City that influenced countless office towers.
Style
Modernism: Alongside architects like Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, Mies
helped define the international style, characterized by clean lines, open
spaces, and the uses of modern materials like steel and glass.
Mies van der rohe protect the
nature?
Integration with the landscape: In works like the farnsworth house, the glass walls make
the natural surroundings part of the living experience. The house seems to float lightly
above the ground, minimizing disruption to the landscape.
Transparency and light: He used a lot of glass to blur the boundary between interior and
exterior. This allowed people inside to always feel connected the outside world.
Minimal footprint: His minimalist style meant using fewer materials and simpler
structures, less invasive approach to building on land.
So while mies wasn’t an environmentalist in the modern sense, his philosophy of
simplicity, honesty, and harmony respected nature as a backdrop and inspiration. He didn’t
protect nature directly, but he designed whit awareness of it.
Ichoose Mies van der Rohe, it’s
because I’m drawn to architecture
that’s clear, honest, and intentional.
His philosophy gives me a way to
design spaces that are minimal but
never cold, structured but still open
and flexible. It’s about creating
something that feels calm,
thoughtful, and deeply human.
Barcelona
Pavilion
Farnsworth
House
Seagram
Building
Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona
Pavilion.
(German Pavilion)
Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich for the 1929
international Exposition in Barcelona, this exhibition building is a
landmark of modernist and minimalist architecture.
Form and materials: A nearly flat “floating” steel roof hovers
above a simple platform, with planes of glass and polished stone-
including marble, red onyx, and travertine-defining interior and
exterior walls.
Spatial concepts: The pavilion pioneered the free plan. No load-
bearing walls, just slender columns, creating a continuous flow of
space that blurs inside and outside. Its open layout, reflective
water basin, and carefully placed planes embody Mies’s motto
“Less is more” and his conviction that “God in the details.”
Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona
Pavilion.
(German
Pavilion)
Legacy: Although the original structure was dismantled in 1930, a faithful
reconstruction was completed in 1986. Today is stands as a “masterclass” in
minimalism and continues to inspire architects, designers, and artists
worldwide.
Iconic furniture: The Barcelona chair, co-designed with Lilly Reich for this
pavilion, remains in production and is celebrated as a 20th-century design
classic.
The Barcelona Pavilion remains one of Mies van der Rohe’s most enduring
symbols of simplicity, material honesty, and spatial freedom.
Mies’s design employs
a precise travertine-
paver grid as the
invisible framework
for walls and planes,
elevates the entire
structure on a slim
plinth to emphasize its
low, horizontal profile,
and caps its with a
thin flat roof that
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exterior.
The pavilion’s design is based on a formulaic
grid system developed by Mies that not only
serves as the patterning of the travertine
pavers, but it also serves as an underlying
framework that the wall systems work
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Plans
Barcelona chair
dimension &
Drawing
Barcelona chair 3D
Interior
Farnsworth House
exterior
Plan & Section (Farnsworth
House)
Farnsworth House
interior
Farnsworth
furniture
Farnsworth House:
Mies’s Farnsworth House is a spare glass-and-steel “box” raised on slender
pilotis above the floodplain, with a simple steel frame supporting full-height
glass walls around a travertine slab-dissolving inside and out to create single
open retreat in harmony with nature.
The Farnsworth House is composed almost entirely of
industrial-grade materials celebrated honestly and
precisely.
Steel frame: Eight wide-flange steel columns(white) support two concrete
slabs (floor and roof) and exposed 15’’ C-channel members, creating the
entire structural ‘skeleton”.
Glass walls: ¼ thick, floor-to-ceiling glass panels enclose the volume on all
sides, dissolving the boundary between inside and out.
Concrete slabs: the roof and floor slabs are cast in concrete (with built-in
radiant heating coils in the floor) and cantilever beyond the columns lines.
Travertine: stone tiles of travertine finish the interior floor and
exterior terrace surface, providing a warm counterpoint to the
steel and glass.
Secondary materials: within the core you’ll also find wood
(primavera and teak) for cabinetry and a plaster-lined ceiling
above the service block.
Crown Hall
Designed as the home of Iit college of Architecture, Crown Hall is celebrated
as one of Mies’s van der Rohe’s masterpieces. It houses studios and
classrooms within a single, column-free volume-a ‘universal space’ under a
suspended roof- reflecting the architect’s pursuit of clarity and openness.
Design concept:
Free plan ‘universal space’: a vast 220*120 ft hall, unobstructed by
interior columns, fosters visual and social interaction across the studio floor.
Suspended roof: four steel plate girders span between eight perimeter h-
columns, lifting the roof off the ground plane and emphasizing the buildings
floating horizontality.
Material & structure:
Structural steel: 8 slender h-columns and welded steel- plate girders form
the entire superstructure.
Glass curtain walls: floor-to-ceiling glazing wraps the perimeter, flooding
the interior with natural light and visually connecting inside to campus
outside.
Granite-tiled floor: provides a durable, refined surface that contrast with
the industrial steel and glass.
Concrete substructure: independent slab system supports the suspended
studio volume.
Philosophy:
Less is more.
Truth to structure.
Universal architecture.
Crown Hall
Crown hall interior
Crown Hall furniture
Crown hall plans
Barcelona pavilion, Farnsworth house and Crown hall, Mies van der rohe consistently
applies the same core principles.
Structural clarity: in all 3 the load-bearing system is fully exposed and
celebrated steel columns girders or pilotis are left visible rather than hidden
behind walls.
Free plan: no interior walls carry structural load. Whether it’s the pavilion
floating planes the house is single open room, or Crown hall is vast studio floor
plan remain fully flexible.
Minimalist ‘less is more’.
Honest use same materials.
Horizontal emphasis.
Barcelona Pavilion:
Use: temporary exhibition ‘inhabitable sculpture’ (1929).
Form: Floating steel roof over minimal glass and store planes,
choreographed promenade with reflecting pools.
Scale & Legacy: Small, luxurious, a manifesto of minimalism .
Farnsworth House:
Use: private weekend retreat (1951).
Form: elevated glass “box” on pilotis, one open room facing the landscape.
Scale & Legacy: intimate, a prototype of the modern glass house and
indoor-outdoor living.
S.R Crown Hall:
Use: architecture school studio building (1956)
Form: Vast column-free hall under a suspended steel roof with glass curtain
walls
Scale & Legacy: Monumental, defining the “universal space” for
institutional architecture.
In essence, the Pavilion is an exhibition of minimal form and precious
materials, the Farnsworth House is an intimate private dwelling that dissolves
boundaries between inside and out, Crown Hall is a monumental academic
hall, expressing Mies’s ideal of a ‘universal space’ through expansive span and
structural clarity.
Thank you
<3
