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)
We build for people, not for monuments.
The modern architect must be a poet.
Light and space are the elements of architecture.
I refuse to accept the idea that architecture is just building.
The structure is the argument.
In design, nothing is left to chance.
Architecture reflects the spirit of the age.
The devil is in the details? No, the divine is.
I am a bricklayer at heart.
Form and function must be one.
The future of architecture is universal.
Simplicity requires courage.
Every detail matters in the whole.
Architecture is the art of building.
I live in my work.
We must be clear as to what constitutes architecture. It is not the satisfaction of a need, but the creation of a value.
Architecture is a language. When you are good, you can be a poet.
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.
We refuse to recognize problems of form, but only problems of building.
The individual is losing significance; his destiny is no longer interesting.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).