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 long path from the primitive hut to the skyscraper is a single, continuous movement.
We should try to bring architecture a little closer to life.
Truth is the meaning of life.
I believe that architecture has little to do with the invention of forms. It is the expression of a spirit.
The problem of building is not a problem of form but a problem of construction.
Architecture is a battle, a battle against the forces of nature, a battle against the forces of man.
I refuse to invent forms.
We must not forget that architecture is not a game, but a serious task.
The structure is the whole. The details are the structure.
The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man's life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence.
The problem of our time is the problem of the individual in the mass.
The essence of architecture is the creation of space.
I am not interested in arbitrary forms, but in clear construction.
The building is the expression of a spirit.
We must be true to our time.
Architecture is a spiritual act, not a technical one.
The human being is the measure of all things.
I believe that architecture is a question of truth.
The beauty of a building is in its structure.
Architecture is the will of the epoch translated into space.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).