When Less is More

Ludwig Mies Van de Rohe was a gem among rocks in an architectural world of Chicago that influenced many of the reasons why I still today always look up when walking the canyons of any major city. He died 10 years before the Pritzker Prize was established. His "less is more" ideals were perfection in a world obsessed with the lavish and obstrusive details that were popping up everywhere in the 60s. His 'God is in the details' was never more present than in his fabulous Federal Plaza in Chicago, which I've walked though thousands upon thousands of times during my youth; his gorgeous Seagram Building, which is the epitomy of classic NYC; and the perfect Toronto-Dominion Centre in Canada, which I will be visiting this week during my trip up to the land of Loonies and Toonies as part of the Luminato Festival.

Mies ranks as one of the most notable architects of the 20th century. With his highly developed sense of classical proportion, appreciation of modern structure and materials, and keen sense of craftsmanship, he created buildings that provided a new style for the 20th century, one that reshaped architecture following World War II. The street in front of Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, near Mies' former residence, is named in honor of the architect.

The thru-way between Mies, my God of all architects, and "the rest" comes with Philip Johnson, who started the Architecture Dept. at MoMA and had a major stake in the development of Lincoln Center in the mid-60s. He planned Mies' first visit to the U.S. and assisted him in the creation of Mies' lone NY skyscraper, the gorgeous Seagram Building, which houses the awesome Four Seasons restaurant (add Rothko to that list of fabulousness and you have a hotbed of NYC history and a whole lotta story.)

The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established in 1979 to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture. Many notables are on the list of Laureates for the famed prize, some of my favorites in the field (having created some of my favorite buildings to date): Philip Johnson (NYState Theater, Lincoln Center); I.M. Pei (Silver Towers for NYU, Kennedy Library, Boston); Richard Meier (Perry Street towers, West Highway, NY); Renzo Piano (NYTimes Building, Garnder Museum and LACMA, L.A.); Rem Koolhaus (Seattle Library, Student Center at I.I.T.-Chicago - both totalling his only two buildings in the United States to date!)

The Illinois Institute of Technology campus was one of the great creations by legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Crown Hall is one of the world-renowned buildings and has been commemorated on postage stamps. The new kid on the block is the brash bright orange McCormick Tribune Campus Center by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. It is a shocking contrast to the Miesian grid of the campus, but it is a breath of fresh air.

It's all because of Mies that I am reminded to always look up. Because of "Less is More", in fact God IS in the details.