Without Lifting A Finger

Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper Project, Berlin , a photo by glen.h on Flickr. A variation of this photo appears as the frontispiece to Roth's "Skyscrapers."

Mies van der Rohe pavillion , a photo by lgpueyo on Flickr. In Barcelona, Spain.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German architect . [ 1 ] He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies , his surname. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, along with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier , are widely regarded as the pioneering masters of Modern architecture . Mies, like many of his post World War I contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential twentieth century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strived towards an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing open space. He called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He sought a rational approach that would guide the creative process of ...