Ludwig Mies van der Rohe/Metropolitan Structures Collection

Ludwig Mies van der RoheWW-1961-017772

1961·Bound scrapbooks, printed papers. and black and white photographic prints.·7 oversize portfolios: W.: 38.1 cm (15 in.)

The real estate development firm Metropolitan Structures evolved from an earlier firm owned by Herbert Greenwald, for whom Mies designed the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments and several other buildings in Chicago. For Metropolitan Structures Mies designed Nuns’ Island (Montreal), 111 East Wacker Drive (Chicago), Illinois Central Air Rights Project (which would become Illinois Center), and Highfield House and One Charles Center (Baltimore). The collection is comprised of scrapbooks containing photographs, articles, brochures, advertisements, and other printed matter that document the design development, construction, and leasing of the Mies projects. <a href="http://digital-libraries.artic.edu/cdm/search/collection/findingaids/searchterm/Mies%20van%20der%20Rohe,%20Ludwig,%252FMetropolitan%20Structures%20Collection/field/title/mode/all/conn/and/cosuppress/1">View finding aid.</a> <a href="http://digital-libraries.artic.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/mqc&CISOBOX1=Mies+van+der+Rohe">Find all Mies van der Rohe digital images.</a> Collection access: Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult <a href="https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/contact-usage-and-faq">the FAQ</a>. <a href="https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/finding-aids">Finding aids by subject</a> <a href="http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/findingaids">Browse all finding aids</a> <a href="http://digital-libraries.saic.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/mqc">Browse images and media</a> <a href="https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/oral-histories">Oral histories</a> Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives: archives@artic.edu

Catalogue

Year: 1961
Medium: Bound scrapbooks, printed papers. and black and white photographic prints.
Dimensions: 7 oversize portfolios: W.: 38.1 cm (15 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Artist

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Drawing

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect and furniture designer whose stripped-down aesthetic defined modernism in the twentieth century. He pioneered the steel-frame glass building and the open-plan interior, reducing architectural form to its essential structural elements. His Barcelona Chair and Brno Chair became canonical pieces of twentieth-century design, their tubular steel frames and leather surfaces exemplifying his dictum 'less is more.' After emigrating to the United States in 1938, he directed the Illinois Institute of Technology and designed the Farnsworth House and the Seagram Building in New York. His influence on post-war architecture and industrial design remains foundational.

Aachen, Germany

Full artist profile →