Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

German architect (1886–1969)

In the history of technology, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is one of the names that keeps returning.

The record lists Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as German architect (1886–1969).

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born at Aachen in 1886. His recorded nationality is Germany. He was educated at Unterrichtsanstalt des Kunstgewerbemuseums Berlin and Berlin University of the Arts.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, national institutions, mass media and mass politics changed both the scale of a career and its risks.

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He worked as architect, designer and teacher.

His affiliations include Bauhaus and Illinois Institute of Technology.

Among his principal works are Toronto-Dominion Centre, Westmount Square and Seagram Building. Technology is judged by adoption: an invention nobody uses is a curiosity.

His recorded fields of work are architecture.

Recognition followed: Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963) and Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1959).

That the work was done from Germany matters. Opportunity has never been evenly distributed, and where a person is based shapes which doors open and whose work gets seen.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe died in 1969, aged 83. What survives is the work, which is the only durable form of a reputation.

Achievements

Compare with the greats

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