MIES VAN DER ROHE

• SOME WORKS
• DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
• PROJECT- S.R CROWN HALL

SUBMITTED BY : PRIYANKA ROY

B.SC ID, 3RD SEMESTER
DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES
• Evolved his ideas from basic principles of construction;
hence the form of his buildings is the expression of their
structure. No complication rather aimed at clear and
simple structure. The concept of fluid space with a
seamless flow between indoors and outdoors.

• Distinction between structural and non structural

elements. Flexible arrangement of floor plan.

• Emphasized on the usage of steel and glass as a building

material in the structures.

• Togetherness of the interior space and the landscape

served the ideology.

• Emphasized on the better selection of the modest usage

of the building material.
• He created an influential 20th century architectural style. His
mature buildings made use of modern materials such as
industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He
called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He is
known for the use of the aphorisms "less is more" and
Gustave Flaubert's "God is in the details”.

• LESS IS MORE He does not build palaces or heavy, massive

fortresses. For a minimum of mass, his buildings yield a
maximum in cultivated living……

• GOD IS IN THE DETAILS perfection lies in giving consideration

to every minute detail……..as GOD is perfect………
S. R. Crown Hall
INTRODUCTION
• Crown Hall is one of 20 buildings designed by Mies van der Rohe for the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago.
This is the centerpiece of a masterplan for the campus founded in 1940 that covers approximately 50 hectares, the
highest concentration of works by Mies in the world.
• His approach is certainly innovative, but it is art that makes the implementation of the IIT campus a destination for
international fans of modern architecture. Here, Mies Van der Rohe had developed and perfected the modern
architectural grammar of the language, its ideas, structure, proportions and geometry.
• The American Institute of Architects appointed IIT one of the most significant of the twentieth century. Crown Hall, is
the most famous buildings built in 1954 with an innovative technology combining steel and glass.
• Mies’s original plan for the campus was centered on two main buildings, a campus for students and a library. However, it
had to adapt their plans to economic restrictions. It was not until the prosperous post-World War II when the architect
was able to create his great modernist monuments, including Crown Hall, a building to house the School of Architecture.
• Mies designed a new building far more ambitious and daring than the existing one at one end of campus.
 CONCEPT
• The building is configured as a self-contained in a rectangular shape on two levels.
• Is a free volume with its four walls of glass, surrounded by a large green area, with large trees, mainly in the south facade. The
glazing on all sides that allows the faculty do not give back the rest of the buildings, while respecting the context.
• It is characterized by an industrial aesthetic of simplicity, clearly stated in their steel frames.
• “Flowing space” is another important architectural theory of Mies van der Rohe: the larger space can be divided into several
interconnected smaller spaces and can be transformed into spaces of whatever we want. And the project IIT Crown Hall
(1950-1956) is usually considered to represent this theory: in the site of 120m*220m, the ground floor is the “flowing space”
for events of a maximum number of 400 people while it also can be divided into library, exhibition center and office rooms
with wooden partitions. However, this project exactly shows how the form stands higher than the function in the way of
limiting the shape (a pure cube) and materials (glass and steel) at the beginning.
SPACES

• The building is divided into two levels: the main floor, shaped like a large space and a
semi-buried where they are located the offices, meeting rooms and services.

• The main floor, which occupies 50% of the building, comprising a single glass-enclosed
space devoted to the study of architecture. Mies called it a “universal space” to be totally
flexible in its use. The divisions that has very few moving parts, made with lightweight
panels that allow you to place the space as required.

• The vegetation surrounding the building a calm working environment, helps regulate the
sunlight on the glass facade and makes the view much more pleasant for users inside the
building.

• The facades of glass create an open environment, giving the feeling of working outdoors
in a park, with the view to the skyscrapers of Chicago and vegetation.
CONSTRUCTION
AND
MATERIALS
CONSTRUCTION
AND
MATERIALS
CONSTRUCTION
AND
MATERIALS
 INTERIOR
• Rohe relied heavily on
glass to dissolve the
boundary between the
buildings interior and
exterior.

• The absence of any

decorative style was
fundamental

• He used simple
rectangular forms,
clean lines and pure
use of colours for the
interior style.
• As the building is
column free, the space is
open and wide, designed
with only one large, open
classroom for the entire
place. The walls are
made of ceiling-to-floor
glass walls, encouraging
the close relationship
between human, building
and nature

• Wood was used for

interior partitions and
cabinets, and also in
foundation (wood piles).

• Flooring for the hall is

terrazzo, while the stairs
and external terraces on
the north and south sides
is travertine.
FURNITURES USED
• By confining himself
to contemporary
materials, glass and
steel, he was able to
craft the expression of
modernity.

• The furnitures used in

the interior wre an
expression of his “
less in More “
philosophy.

• They were designed

by Rohe keeping in
mass productions.

• Furniture's used were

very minimal, only
what is required which
gives ample amount of
free space to the
interior's.
 IMPORTANCE
• A National Historic Landmark, Crown Hall is a
straightforward expression of construction and materiality,
which allows the structure to transcend into art.

• Its refinement and innovation place it among the most

distinguished buildings of its age and define its importance in
the history of architecture.

• Crown Hall is considered architecturally significant because

Mies van der Rohe refined the basic steel and glass
construction style, beautifully capturing simplicity and
openness for endless new uses.

• Creating this openness was achieved by the building having a

suspended roof, without the need for interior columns.
CURRENT SCENARIO -
RENOVATION
• In Aug. 2005, crown hall underwent major renovation by
Krueck and Sexton architects.
• Original ‘Detroit graphite’ paint was replaced by lead free
black coating on the structural steel.
• Glazing was completely replaced by panels that meet
current wind load requirements.
• Interior wood partitions and lockers were refinished.
Additional electrical and ethernet wiring were added.
THANK YOU