Ludwig Mies van der Rohe : Drawings in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art

"The sketch, the idea put on paper, has almost become synonymous with the creative act," writes Ludwig Glaeser. Each of the drawings in this portfolio-sized, spiral-bound book is a germinal act of architectural creation. The sketches represent projects that for one reason or another were never constructed, and so for those interested in the full range of Mies's architectural concepts, the book serves as a necessary supplement to those that are based largely on his built projects. Glaeser states that "Mies van der Rohe's fame as one of the founders of modern architecture rests on five projects he conceived between 1921 and 1923. Several drawings for these projects-the Friedrichstrasse Office Building and the Concrete Office Building among them-assumed such historical significance that their artistic quality was obscured for a long time. Yet twenty years ago, in the first book to appear on the architect, Philip Johnson declared the drawings 'the most beautiful renderings of the century.' "Like many masterpieces, the drawings defy biographical convention: they hardly reflect a continuous development or evidence major influences. Mies's sketches are as personal as handwriting and as incidental as notebook entries-which, in many cases, they obviously were." The 31 plates are printed on heavy stock; the sheets measure 24½ by 18 inches and are printed on one side only. The drawings in this selection are grouped by technique and degree of "finish"-ranging from rough fountain pen sketches, through more elaborate pencil perspectives and montages combining drawings with cut-out reproductions (several in color), to hard-line studio drawings-in order to illustrate the various steps from idea to realization. The projects depicted include the Friedrichstrasse Office Building and the Glass Skyscraper, both dated 1921; the Concrete Office Building (1922); a Museum for a Small City (1942); a Concert Hall (1942); a Library and Administration Building, designed for the Illinois Institute of Technology (1944); a Convention Hall, planned for Chicago (1953); and a number of dwellings designed in the 1930s, including a Glass House on a Hillside, a Row House, a Country House, and a variety of houses featuring courts. The book was published by the Museum of Modern Art in 1969 and is now being distributed by The MIT Press.Agre, Philip E. is the author of 'Ludwig Mies van der Rohe : Drawings in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art', published 1974 under ISBN 9780262250016 and ISBN 0262250012.