Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Less is more, glass and steel architecture
Most quoted
"The new era is a fact; it exists, irrespective of our approval or disapproval. It is a spiritual fact, and it is our task to recognize it and to find its true meaning."
— from G, no. 1, 1923
"I believe that architecture has little to do with the invention of interesting forms or with personal taste. Its real task is to give form to the life of its time."
— from Speech at the Illinois Institute of Technology, 1950
"If we succeed in raising this industrial production to the level of a valid building form, then the social, economic, and technical problems will also be solved."
— from G magazine article, 1924
All quotes by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (321)
The building must be a logical consequence of its construction.
I believe in the power of silence.
I would rather be good than interesting.
We should try to make a good building, not a beautiful one.
I don't want to invent a new architecture every Monday morning.
The problem is not to invent new forms, but to give meaning to existing ones.
I don't design buildings, I design spaces.
I am not interested in the spectacular, but in the essential.
The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
I don't want to be original. I want to be good.
Architecture is a language. When you are good, you can speak it.
The future is not a goal, it's a direction.
I don't want to be interesting, I want to be necessary.
Architecture is the art of how to waste space.
I don't want to be a genius, I want to be a good craftsman.
The less you do, the more you have to do.
I don't want to be modern, I want to be timeless.
I don't want to be famous, I want to be respected.
The only thing I know is that I know nothing.
I don't want to be original, I want to be true.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).