We should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together in a higher unity.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
Architecture is always the will of the age conceived as space - nothing else. Until this simple truth is clearly recognized, the struggle over the foundation of a new architecture confident in its aims and powerful in its impact cannot be realized; until then, it is destined to remain a chaos of uncoordinated forces.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Architecture reflects the desires and values of its time, and understanding this is crucial for coherent design.
In this quote, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe emphasizes that architecture is a reflection of the cultural and social values of its time. He suggests that for architecture to have a profound and organized impact, one must acknowledge and understand the underlying motivations and aims of the current age, or else it will remain a disordered collection of conflicting ideas and styles.
Themes
ArchitectureDesignCultureValuesSpace
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern building designs, this quote can illustrate the importance of understanding contemporary values.
More from Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
All quotes →Architecture depends on facts, but its real field of activity lies in the realm of the significance.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
The demands of the time for objectivity and functionality must be fulfilled. If that clearly happens, then the buildings of our day will convey the greatness of which the age is capable, and only a fool will maintain that they lack it.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
I think that an industrial process is not like a rubber stamp. Everything has to be put together and, as such, should have its own expression.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
Reinforced concrete buildings are by nature skeletal buildings. No noodles nor armoured turrets. A construction of girders that carry the weight, and walls that carry no weight. That is to say, buildings consisting of skin and bones.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
Modern buildings of our time are so huge that one must group them. Often the space between these buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
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