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 stand for no aesthetic dogma, no architectural school, but for a belief in architecture as a spiritual expression of our time.
The structure is the whole. The structure is the visible support of the whole.
We should try to bring architecture back to its true meaning, to its true purpose.
The problem of building is a problem of construction, not of aesthetics.
Architecture is a battle, a battle against the materials, a battle against the forces of nature, a battle against the client.
I believe that architecture is a spiritual expression of our time.
The true work of art is a manifestation of the spirit.
We must accept the new conditions, and we must find a new architecture for them.
The new architecture is not a style, but an attitude.
I do not create forms, I create space.
The building is the expression of the structure.
We must learn to build with the new materials, and we must learn to use them honestly.
The problem of our time is not to invent new forms, but to give meaning to existing ones.
Architecture is the art of building, and building is the art of construction.
I believe in the power of simplicity.
The task of the architect is to make the invisible visible.
We must build for our time, and we must build well.
We must be as clear in our thinking as in our construction.
The problem of the new architecture is not a problem of style. It is a problem of life.
I am not interested in inventing a new architectural language. I am interested in perfecting the existing one.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).