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 simpler, the better.
Architecture is the art of making a meaningful whole out of many parts.
The goal is to achieve a maximum of effect with a minimum of means.
I want to be objective.
The building must be a clear and logical structure.
The problem is not to invent new things, but to use the existing ones in a new way.
The building must be honest.
The building must be a reflection of its time.
The task of the architect is to give form to the spirit of the age.
We must build with the materials of our time.
The building must be functional.
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.
We must be clear that the problem of building is a problem of construction, not of aesthetics.
The new era is a fact; it exists, irrespective of our approval or disapproval.
I am not interested in the 'new' but only in the 'good'.
The problem of the new architecture is a problem of the new building.
We must accept the facts of our time and build accordingly.
We stand for an architecture that is clear, logical, and organic.
The purpose of architecture is to shelter and to serve.
The materials are the language of architecture.
Contemporaries of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).