Comments on: Mies van der Rohe, Rem Koolhaas and Santiago Calatrava

By: littletinyfish

littletinyfish — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:17:26 +0000

I live in Milwaukee and the Calatrava Art Museum is certainly the pride of the city. Watching the wings rise is staggering and viewing the lake from the inside is breath taking. If you’re ever in Milwaukee to view it, I’ll lend you my couch for the night.

By: lollo

lollo — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:57:01 +0000

mies er mejo

By: Edward Lifson

Edward Lifson — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:12:05 +0000

I live in a Mies, at 880 N. Lake Shore Drive. It is uplifting, spiritual, poetic, responsible, and beyond. The comments of Giles are wise.

All best to you,
-Edward Lifson

By: pea

pea — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:49:18 +0000

Thanks for the great insight, Giles. In the new light it sheds I’ve come to review my statement. Although I still feel that many people have poorly imitated Mies’ work, losing touch with craftmanship.

I’ve had the fortune of visiting the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, a building by van der Rohe. It does indeed breathe elegance in a way I’ve not experienced in many other buildings.

Now I’m wondering if I should edit my original text. First I’ll read up about Brutalism and the other things you mentioned. Thanks again.

By: Giles

Giles — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:45:17 +0000

By the way Tati’s satire was directed at Brutalism & Corbusier not Mies who produced little domestic architecture.

By: Giles

Giles — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:41:57 +0000

I don’t agree with those comments about Mies. There was a division in modernism that was mediated by WW2. Mies represents humane modernism, his buildings are elegant, transparent & value human craftsmanship as you can see in the details of his work. The Brutalism instigated by Corbusier is more responsible for the alienating quality of much Urbanism. IMO because the importance of scale/space was sublimated to extreme economic rationalisations & the absence of the human mark which modernists like Mies or Loos never lost sight of. Fortunately those values were reinstated by Eames, Koolhas & Neutelings.