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 structure is the whole thing from top to bottom, to the last detail - with the same ideas.
Buildings should not be theatrical, but should have a certain dignity.
The office building is a house of work, of organization, of clarity, of economy.
I am not a functionalist. I am an architect.
Technology is rooted in the past. It dominates the present and tends into the future.
Nothing can express the aim and meaning of our work better than the profound words of St. Augustine: 'Beauty is the splendor of truth.'
The skyscraper reveals its bold, structural character during construction.
It is not possible to go forward while looking back.
We must set new values and point ultimately to the spiritual sphere of our life.
The materials are concrete, glass, and steel. The buildings are skeletons.
The individual is losing significance; his destiny is no longer what interests us.
True education is concerned not only with practical goals but also with values.
I am not a 'modern' architect. I am an architect.
The problem of the dwelling is that of our time.
The long path from material through function to creative work has only a single goal: to create order out of the desperate confusion of our time.
The essence of the epoch as a whole is the same in all its manifestations.
The principle of the skeleton structure gives us the greatest freedom of plan.
We have to be very careful with the word 'style'. It is a dangerous word.
The house should be serviceable to the last degree, but not more.
I am for the new time, with all its consequences.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).