Mies van der Rohe

Less is more

Perfection in purism

He coined the motto "less is more" - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was one of the founding fathers of modern architecture and significantly influenced the aesthetics of urban planning in the 20th century, albeit not always without controversy.

In his search for an elementary truth, Mies van der Rohe propagated pure forms and proportions. Using modern technology and the latest materials, he designed buildings of purist simplicity, such as the Seagram Building or Farnsworth House. His critics argued that this extreme approach would produce monotonous and barely distinguishable cityscapes, while others saw him as the master of an elegant essence.

This volume presents over 20 of Mies van der Rohe's projects from the period between 1906 and 1967, highlighting his groundbreaking ideas and his influence in America and Europe.

The author

Claire Zimmerman writes about modern architecture and contemporary culture. In 2001, she was a member of the research team for the MoMA exhibition Mies in Berlin. She is currently an associate professor of art history at the University of Michigan.

The editor

Peter Gössel runs an agency for museum and exhibition design. For TASCHEN he has published monographs on Julius Shulman, R. M. Schindler, John Lautner and Richard Neutra as well as several architecture titles in the Small Series.