A daily blog on architecture in Chicago, and other topics cultural, political and mineral.
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Tuesday, September 06, 2005
The Legacy of Crown Hall
Crown Hall and Mies van der Rohe, a shining beacon on the road to modernism or, as Tom Wolfe would suggest, a vampiric infestation of dead European values into the pristine American midwest. Some initial thoughts. Be sure to add your own here.
My comment pertains to your assertation, "For many architects, this is all much too anal. They respond to Mies as they would to a bad rash. In our liberated, all-accepting time, where excess is seldom enough, Mies's linear, controlling and demandingly simple architecture seems a relic of a despotic age."
If by "liberated, all accepting time" you mean an era that is watered down with mediocrity and lack of integrity, squandering in self-absorbion and does not care to see things fully, then I agree--Mies's genius is of a past age. Today, most people who call themselves architects fit right into that "liberated, all accepting" category--"designing" buildings half-way, not caring about integrity of design. They should be as anal as Mies, maybe then there wouldn't be so many contemptible buildings in America. Those who studied in Crown Hall are lucky to have been surrounded by such integrity while undergoing their architectural education. Afterall, one must know the rules in order to break them. There can be no irrational design that works without first understanding the rationale behind it all. This is what Mies is teaching us through his so called "simple architecture." Mies' architecture is more complex then many will ever understand. That is fine, leave it for those of us who get it.
Nessun commento , solo che la Crown hall di Mies è un grande patrimonio e testimone dell'architettura contemporanea nonchè mia personale musa ispiratrice
My comment pertains to your assertation, "For many architects, this is all much too anal. They respond to Mies as they would to a bad rash. In our liberated, all-accepting time, where excess is seldom enough, Mies's linear, controlling and demandingly simple architecture seems a relic of a despotic age."
ReplyDeleteIf by "liberated, all accepting time" you mean an era that is watered down with mediocrity and lack of integrity, squandering in self-absorbion and does not care to see things fully, then I agree--Mies's genius is of a past age. Today, most people who call themselves architects fit right into that "liberated, all accepting" category--"designing" buildings half-way, not caring about integrity of design. They should be as anal as Mies, maybe then there wouldn't be so many contemptible buildings in America. Those who studied in Crown Hall are lucky to have been surrounded by such integrity while undergoing their architectural education. Afterall, one must know the rules in order to break them. There can be no irrational design that works without first understanding the rationale behind it all. This is what Mies is teaching us through his so called "simple architecture." Mies' architecture is more complex then many will ever understand. That is fine, leave it for those of us who get it.
Nessun commento , solo che la Crown hall di Mies è un grande patrimonio e testimone dell'architettura contemporanea nonchè mia personale musa ispiratrice
ReplyDelete