Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe Less Is More

Ludwig mies van der rohe s international style was the impetus for the midcentury modernism we know today.

Ludwig mies van der rohe less is more. The phrase less is more was actually first popularized by a german the architect ludwig mies van der rohe who like other people associated with the bauhaus emigrated to the united states before world war ii and took up posts at american architecture schools. Economic austerity was only one of the catalysts for the trend toward efficient living. As far as architectural aphorisms go mies van der rohe s less is more seems to succinctly define a modernist ethic. What s less well known however is that van der rohe wasn t actually the originator of the phrase even if it did come to be inextricably linked with him.

Thus he s widely acknowledged as one of the 20th century s greatest architects. First coined in the 18th century by an english poet less is more would go by relatively unnoticed for nearly two centuries before finding resonance with german architect and designer ludwig mies van der rohe as a leading figure of the modernist movement mies found new meaning in the phrase applying it to new realms and pioneering new modes of thinking for generations to come. The pithy observation was in fact given its first airing by peter behrens a godfather figure to the young mies who he drafted in to work on aspects of the aeg turbine factory in berlin between 1907 and 1910. Mies van der rohe the name which echoes in the tall american buildings and in the world of modern minimal architecture being born in aachen germany mies is strongly inspired by the minimalism less is more that s what represents each of his work when the world is looking for attractions mies looked deeper into simplicity and it made him become the master in his work.

Later he moved to berlin where he found work in the offices of architect and furniture designer bruno paul and industrial architect peter behrens.