Mies van der Rohe

Hardcover, 21 x 26 cm, 0.62 kg, 96 pages

ISBN 978-3-8365-6039-9
Edition: German

ISBN 978-3-8365-6042-9
Edition: English

Less is more

Perfection in purism

He coined the motto “less is more” – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) was one of the founding fathers of modern architecture and had a significant, if not always undisputed, influence on the aesthetics of urban planning in the 20th century.

In search of an elementary truth, Mies van der Rohe propagated pure forms and proportions. Using modern technology and the latest materials, he designed buildings of puristic simplicity such as the Seagram Building or Farnsworth House. His critics objected that this extreme approach would produce monotonous and indistinguishable cityscapes, while others saw him as the master of an elegant essence.

This volume presents over 20 of Mies van der Rohe's projects from 1906 to 1967, highlighting his groundbreaking ideas and influence in America and Europe.

The author

Claire Zimmerman writes about modern architecture and contemporary culture. In 2001 she was a member of the research team for the MoMA exhibition Mies in Berlin. She is currently Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Michigan.

The Publisher

Peter Gössel runs an agency for museum and exhibition design. For TASCHEN, he has edited monographs on Julius Shulman, RM Schindler, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra, as well as several architecture titles in the Small Series.