Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), Architect
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born at Aachen, Germany on May 27, 1886. He emerged early as a prominent member of the avant-garde in Germany, and by 1932, while he was director of the famed Bauhaus in Dessau, was already recognized as one of the leading figures in the emergence of the international modern movement in architecture.[1]
Mies emigrated to the United States in 1938, and was appointed that year as head of the architecture school at the Illinois Institute of Technology (then known as the Amour Institute of Technology), a position he held for two decades. He remained in architectural practice following his academic tenure, and continued to produce designs that have since become landmarks of the modern movement.[2] His distinctive and influential American oeuvre has led to the designation of a stylistic term that bears his name.[3] He died in Chicago on August 19, 1969.
While the reasons are currently unknown, Mies van der Rohe applied for a license to practice architecture in Nebraska on June 22, 1965, and was granted certificate A-687 on October 11 of that year. His application included a copy of his “Form for Senior Classification” for N.C.A.R.B. certificate 4600, dated November 20, 1954, as well as an update to his resume of commissions covering the years 1955-1957. He maintained his Nebraska license until his death.[4]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
References
1. “Mies: The Man, The Legacy,” (Mies van der Rohe Society, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2012). Accessed May 26, 2016. http://miessociety.org/legacy/; Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, and Philip Johnson. The International Style. New Edition. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1997 [1932]); and see Gili Merin, “AD Classics: Modern Architecture: International Exhibition / Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock,” ArchDaily (August 2, 2013). Accessed May 26, 2016. http://www.archdaily.com/409918/ad-classics-modern-architecture-international-exhibition-philip-johnson-and-henry-russell-hitchcock.
2. See “The Story: Legacy,” (Mies van der Rohe Society, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2012). Accessed May 26, 2016. http://miessociety.org/legacy/projects/; and “Mies van der Rohe (1886-1968),” North Carolina Modernist Houses. (Triangle Modernist Archive, 2008-2016). Accessed May 26, 2016. http://www.ncmodernist.org/vanderrohe.htm.
3. Marcus Whiffen. American Architecture Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles. Revised Edition (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992).
4. “Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering or Architecture,” Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, June 22, 1965. Nebraska State Historical Society Archives, RG081.
Other Sources
Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, and Philip Johnson. The International Style. New Edition. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1997 [1932]);
Johnson, Philip. Mies van der Rohe. Third Ed. (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1978).
Krohn, Carsten. Mies van der Rohe: The Built Work. (Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH, 2014).
Merins, Detlef. Mies. (Phaidon Press, 2014).
Schulze, Franz. Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Schulze, Franz, and Edward Windhorst. Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography. New and revised edition. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Zimmerman, Claire. Mies van der Rohe: 1886-1969: The Structure of Space. (Taschen Benedikt Verlag, 2015).
Page Citation
D. Murphy, “Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, May 31, 2016. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, May 23, 2024.
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