We should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together in a higher unity.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
The unformed is not worse than the over-formed. The former is nothing; the latter is mere appearance. Real form presupposes real life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that an absence of form is not inferior to an excess of form; true essence requires genuine life.
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe emphasizes the importance of authenticity in design and existence. He argues that an unformed state, while lacking a defined structure, is not necessarily worse than an over-formed entity which may be more about superficiality. The essence of something should be grounded in real life and authenticity, rather than just aesthetic or imposed structure.
Themes
AuthenticityDesignPhilosophyFormReal Life
In practice
Example use cases
In a design lecture discussing the importance of simplicity.
More from Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
All quotes βArchitecture depends on facts, but its real field of activity lies in the realm of the significance.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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