Happy Birthday, Mies!

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture. His work can be seen in Europe as well as in the United States where he emigrated to in 1938.

One of his early projects is a multi-family apartment house at the Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart, Germany. The Weissenhofsiedlung (Weissenhof Settlement) is a housing estate built for an exhibition in 1927.  Besides Mies van der Rohe, other internationally renowned architects such as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Peter Behrens contributed projects to the exhibition. The architectural style that was seen at the exhibition later became known as the International Style of modern architecture.  Eleven of the original twenty-one buildings survive and can still be visited. (For more information: click here.)

Growing up in Stuttgart and being educated at the University of Stuttgart, the Weissenhofsiedlung and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in particular have been constant inspirations in my architectural education and professional life. This week we celebrate his birth 126 years ago and the ArchDaily website celebrates his life and achievements in an interesting infographic. It is worth a look: www.archdaily.com

posted by Tobias Demuth