LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE

• LUDWIG MIES VAN DER ROHE BORN MARIA LUDWIG MICHAEL MIES; MARCH 27, 1886 – AUGUST 17, 1969)
WAS A GERMAN-AMERICAN ARCHITECT..
• ALONG WITH LE CORBUSIER, WALTER GROPIUS AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, HE IS WIDELY REGARDED AS
ONE OF THE PIONEERS OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE.
• MIES, LIKE MANY OF HIS POST-WORLD WAR I CONTEMPORARIES, SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH A NEW
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE THAT COULD REPRESENT MODERN TIMES JUST AS CLASSICAL AND GOTHIC DID FOR
THEIR OWN ERAS.

• HE CREATED AN INFLUENTIAL TWENTIETH-CENTURY

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE, STATED WITH EXTREME CLARITY AND
SIMPLICITY. HIS MATURE BUILDINGS MADE USE OF MODERN
MATERIALS SUCH AS INDUSTRIAL STEEL AND PLATE GLASS TO
DEFINE INTERIOR SPACES.
CROWN HALL AT THE ILLINOIS
• HE STROVE TOWARD AN ARCHITECTURE WITH A MINIMAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
FRAMEWORK OF STRUCTURAL ORDER BALANCED AGAINST THE CHICAGO (1956)
IMPLIED FREEDOM OF UNOBSTRUCTED FREE-FLOWING OPEN
SPACE.
• HE CALLED HIS BUILDINGS "SKIN AND BONES" ARCHITECTURE.
• HE SOUGHT AN OBJECTIVE APPROACH THAT WOULD GUIDE THE
CREATIVE PROCESS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, BUT HE WAS
ALWAYS CONCERNED WITH EXPRESSING THE SPIRIT OF THE
MODERN ERA.
• HE IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH HIS QUOTATION OF THE
APHORISMS, "LESS IS MORE" AND "GOD IS IN THE DETAILS".
• HE CONSTRUCTED NEW BUILDINGS FOR THE INSTITUTE IN
MODERNIST STYLE, TWO HIGH-RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS ON
LAKESHORE DRIVE APARTMENTS,
LAKESHORE DRIVE (1948–51), WHICH BECAME MODELS FOR HIGH- CHICAGO, (1948–51)
RISES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THE SEAGRAM BUILDING, NEW YORK

CITY, 1958,

• THE BUILDING ALSO SET A NEW

FARNSWORTH HOUSE IN PLANO,
ILLINOIS (1945–51)
• AN SIMPLE HORIZONTAL GLASS BOX
THAT HAD AN ENORMOUS INFLUENCE •
ON AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL
ARCHITECTURE.
STANDARD FOR PURITY AND
ELEGANCE. BASED ON GRANITE
PILLARS,
THE SMOOTH GLASS AND STEEL
WALLS WERE GIVEN A TOUCH OF
COLOR BY THE USE OF BRONZE-
TONED I-BEAMS IN THE STRUCTURE.
 CROWN HALL, ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY (IIT)
NAME OF BUILDING: CROWN HALL, ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (IIT)
LOCATION: 3360 S. STATE STREET, CHICAGO, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
OWNER: ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
STATUS: EXISTING (RENOVATED)
TYPE: ARCHITECTURAL SCHOOL
CONSTRUCTION:
STARTED: 1950
COMPLETED: 1956
2005 (RESTORATION COMPLETION), 1956 (ORIGINAL COMPLETION)
OPENING: 1956
COST: $750,000 (ORIGINAL)

DESIGN
THE DESIGN FOR CROWN HALL IS SAID TO BE DERIVED FROM THE CANTOR DRIVE-IN
RESTAURANT WHICH MIES VAN DER ROHE HAD RECENTLY DESIGNED IN 1945. CROWN HALL IS
CHARACTERIZED BY AN AESTHETIC OF INDUSTRIAL SIMPLICITY WITH ARTICULATED EXPOSED
STEEL FRAME CONSTRUCTION
HEIGHT (ROOF): 5.48M
FIRST FLOOR: 3.05M
BASEMENT: 2.43M
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
FLOOR COUNT: 2
TOTAL FLOOR AREA: 36 X 67 M
= 2412 SQ M
LIFTS/ELEVATORS: NONE

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

CROSS SECTION

FLOOR PLAN

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

ELEVATION
BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN