"God is in the details"

Although its a little on the late side, I promised to further explain the quote "God is in the details" by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.  Really all I meant was that I wanted to share a little bit about one of my fav people who just happened to say the above quote.  He also coined the phrase, "less is more."  I really grew an appreciation for Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's work my 2nd semester of sophomore year.  This was the semester that we worked on the NKBA kitchen design.  NKBA stands for National Kitchen and Bath Association.  They have a student design competition every year that includes both a kitchen design and a bath design.  My teacher, Sister Harris, has adopted these two competitions as our big projects for that semester.  Each year the program, clients, location, etc. is different.  My year we were lucky enough to have it be an apartment at Beach Point Tower located in Chicago.  The architects of the building were students of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe so as you can imagine, the idea was to design a kitchen (and bathroom) that reflected his style which was what we call the International Style.  To make a long story short (which is probably too late since I already made it long), I fell in love with the International Style and with Mies van der Rohe as a designer.  I was surprised because when I first started school, I strongly disliked anything too extremely modern.  Well in a sense, this is where modern design came from, but can I just say that I love it?!  Being in school really has taught me to gain a love and appreciation for all designers and all work (well mostly), lets just say an appreciation for all good design whether its my style or not.

The International Style can be summarized in 6 Principles:

1.  Structural System:

Structural steel and reinforced concrete

2. Elimination of bearing wall:

Exterior wall became a skin of glass, metal, or masonry--constituting an enclosure rather than a support

3.  Decoration:

An avoidance of applied decoration

4.  Elimination of contrast:

An elimination of strong contrasts of color on both exteriors and interiors

5.  Spatial concepts:

New spatial arrangements possible--no longer necessitated by interior bearing walls

6.  Garden cities

The style lead to low-cost mass housing and garden cities

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's work embodied the International style.  A little background info: he was born in Germany in 1886.  He never attended architecture school, he joined the office of Peter Behrens at the age of 22.  While with Behrens he met Walter Gropius (both Behrens and Gropius are worth remembering...at some point we will talk about both).  It was with Behrens that Mies van der Rohe learned about stone and glass.  He loved the beauty of each material, especially stone, because his dad was a stonemason.  Lets explore his style:

 This is the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czecholovakia. You can see the use of clean straight lines. Its amazing to think about the fact that he was designing buildings like this in the 1930's. Not much different then what we consider to be "modern" is it?!

Here are some interior views of the Tugendhat House which really embody what I love about Mies van der Rohe's work.  I love how he uses contrasting materials, for example glass, metal, gorgeous stone, and exotic woods.  The combination of all of the beautiful materials are what make his designs so inspiring.

 You probably recognize this...if not, its ok, just don't admit it!!  No i'm just kidding.  This is the Farnsworth House. This is actually located in our very own Plano, Illinois.  The entire shell of the structure is glass. how beautiful can you get?! ok...no excuses for this one...this is in the U.S. so if you are ever near Plano...you have to check it out! (it's on my bucket list)!!

ok, so now you are getting the idea right? and isn't it beautiful?! i absolutely love this home and again the beautiful and clean materials he uses.  His designs are very simple, little or no ornamentation, but the materials he uses make the spaces come alive and invite you in, making you want to see more.  love his work!!

Ok so i didn't talk a lot about these, but lets be honest...you want to know more huh? well google it!! but before i leave you, (because its past my bedtime...yes it's 10:19...19 minutes overdue and i haven't even washed my face or brushed my teeth...) you have to know the last great thing about Ludwig...and lets be honest...i didn't do him justice. there could be an entire blog just about him, however...you need to know that he designed all of the furniture you saw in his homes.  Thats right, 

this:

the barcelona chair

and this:

the tugendhat couch

and this:

the brno chair

these are just a few of his incredible pieces.  like i said, we could talk about Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his work for years, but there just isn't enough time.  However, you know enough...now research a little on your own!! be inspired, be brave, learn, and find your passion. as for me, i'm going to put these pieces in my wish list...one day i'll be rich enough to own every piece of good design out there...until then, i'll continue writing about them!

xoxo rach