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 new era is a fact; it exists irrespective of our 'yes' or 'no'.
The building art is, in reality, always the spatial execution of spiritual decisions.
The uncluttered wall is the most beautiful thing in architecture.
The interior should be free, open, and flexible.
We must become familiar with the thought of an absolutely flexible ground plan.
The structure must be clear, logical, and consistent.
I see in industrialization the central problem of building in our time.
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.
The architect must get to know the materials and their possibilities.
The real is at the same time the rational.
The principle of building is the same for all tasks.
We stand at a turning point in time: creation of new forms or decline.
The new time is not a fashion; it is a historical fact.
The plan is the generator.
Architecture depends on facts, but its real field of activity is in the realm of significance.
We have to be very careful with the word 'beautiful'. It is a dangerous word.
The building should be honest, direct, and clear.
The most important thing in architecture is proportion.
I am not a teacher. I am a learner.
The city of today is a thing of the past.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).