Ludwig Mies van der Rohe & Le Corbusier
66Forefathers of Modern Design
Le Corbusier (1887-1965) born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), commonly referred to as “Mies” are two of the 20th century’s most important and influential architects. Early in their careers, both men worked for Peter Behrens (1868-1940) at the time Germany’s most progressive architect.
Both had a whittled down, modernist approach to design, that incorporated wide expanses of windows and favored flattop roofs still, each had their own distinctive style. Le Corbusier integrated the contrast of curves into his buildings and Mies’s rectilinear skeletons created new opportunities in building design.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Le Corbusier
Farnsworth House
Chapelle Ronchamp
Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut de Ronchamp by Le Corbusier
The Legacy
Both Le Corbusier and Mies were revolutionary designers who share a place in architectural history as trailblazers that inspired legions of others. Their iconic designs were not only visually stunning but innovative structurally as well. Without Mies’s rectilinear “skin & skeleton” designs, we wouldn’t have the modern skyscraper and Le Corbusier’s playful integration of curves and straight lines surprised and delighted, then as now. Though they have much in common they stand alone as pioneering paragons of their craft and the world is a better and more beautiful place because of them.
Le Corbusier
“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.” –Le Corbusier
Mies
“I don’t want to be interesting, I want to be good.” -Maria Ludwig Michael Mies van der Rohe
Article by Anne Alexander Sieder all rights reserved. For hardcore interior design fans, check out my blog www.prettyhaus.com.
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