The style of Mies van der Rohe’s works

Mies adhered to the architectural design philosophy of "less is more" and advocated a new concept of flowing space in terms of processing techniques.

Mies van der Rohe - Architectural Concepts and Design Style

Mies van der Rohe’s contribution lies in the development of steel frame structures and the application of glass in architecture. A style with classical balance and extreme simplicity. His works are characterized by clean and skeletal appearances, flexible and fluid spaces, and concise yet exquisitely crafted details. His early work showed his extensive use of glass forms, which became a hallmark of his success. Mies's ideas in architectural design were realized through architectural systems, and it was this architectural structure that brought him to the forefront of architecture. At the same time, his views on incorporating materials such as glass, stone, water and steel into the construction industry are often used in his designs. Mies van der Rohe designed in a style characterized by straight lines, but was largely conditioned by structure and technique. In the design of buildings such as public buildings and museums, he uses symmetry, frontal depiction, and side depiction methods to design; while for residential buildings, etc., he mainly uses asymmetry, fluidity, and interlocking methods to design.

Mies pays great attention to details. In his words, "details are God", which is attributed to his father's teaching of his technology. Although he had never received formal architectural studies, he learned masonry from his father at a young age, gained some understanding of the properties of materials and construction techniques, and mastered drawing skills by drawing large decorative patterns. At the same time, he designed with extremely bold, simple and perfect techniques, perfectly combining architectural integrity with structural simplicity. Mies did not pay special attention to the choice of decorative materials, but he paid special attention to the stability of the interior structure. Like Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, Mies also paid special attention to integrating the natural environment, human nature and architecture into a unique unit. This is reflected in the suburban villas, exhibition halls, factories, museums and monuments he designed. At the same time, Mies also redefined the design concept of walls, windows, columns, piers, pilasters, soffit and scaffolding.

Mies established a contemporary popular architectural standard, and his architectural concepts are now famous all over the world. As the father of steel and glass architectural structures, Mies's concept of "less is more" reflects his architectural views and artistic features and has influenced the world. Mies played a considerable role in many fields. He said in his autobiography: "I don't want to be wonderful, I just want to be better!"

Mies' rigorous logical thinking made him insist on "less is more" architectural design philosophy. Its specific content mainly implies two aspects. First, in terms of structure, that is, simplifying the structural system, streamlining structural components, and paying attention to structural logic, so as to create an architectural space with no barriers or very few barriers. Therefore, this space can not only be freely divided into a variety of different functional needs. Different parts can also create a flowing space with rich content and different scenery according to the requirements of space art, and build a sense of time and space. On the one hand, in terms of architectural artistic modeling, this is to purify the architectural form and make it into a geometric configuration diagram composed of straight lines, right angles, rectangles and cuboids without any superfluous things. On the other hand, the precise and rigorous construction, material selection and careful exposure of material color, texture and texture make the shape more clear, refined, pure and noble, with a formal beauty that you will never tire of.