The Dutch Origin of Mies van der Rohe: Mies' Dutch experience and how berlage contributed to Mieian architecture

This thesis aims at depicting the Kröller-Müller commission which involved Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) and Hendrik Petrus Berlage (1856-1934), followed by a research of the Berlagian origin in Mies. Firstly, Mies’ short stay in the Netherlands in the summer of 1912 when he was dealing with the Kröller-Müller project is represented in a detailed manner, with a series of details given, to show extensively Mies’ activities and some events during this certain period which are closely associated with Mies. Mrs. Kröller-Müller played a critical role in the whole Kröller-Müller project, because she was the one who shifted the whole commission from Peter Behrens to Mies. Secondly, the significance of the Kröller-Müller project to Mies is explained, from the aspect of Mies’ own attitudes, and more importantly the whole case as the trigger of Mies’ further dedication to Berlage’s thoughts and works. Some letters of Mies and related people are given as evidences of Mies’ huge investment in the project. Finally, an analysis of Mies’ Berlagian origin is carried out by comparing Berlage’s thoughts and architecture to the counterpart of Mies’. This analysis is divided into two categories, first the European period of Mies and from the tectonics he learned from Berlage, and second the American period and what he learned from Berlage’s theories. After this analysis, it is clear that Mies could have been inspired greatly by Berlage, and based the frame of his own architectural philosophy on Berlage’s argument where he emphasized a style - ‘unity in diversity’, or the existence of a universal principle, which is very consistent with Mies’ homogeneous grid system.Berlage, Hendrik Petrus. Thoughts on Style: 1886-1909. Santa Monica, CA: The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1996. Cohen, Jean-Louis. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: Third and updated edition. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783035616811. 2018. Deventer, Salomon van. Kröller-Müller, De Geschiedenis Van Een Cultureel Levenswerk. Haarlem: H. D. Tjeenk Willink, 1956. Johnson, Philip, and Museum of Modern Art (New York). Mies Van Der Rohe, 2nd and revised edition. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1953. Kim, Ransoo. The art of building (Baukunst) of Mies van der Rohe. Diss. Georgia Institute of Technology, August 2006. Puente, Moisés. Conversations with Mies van der Rohe. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008. Schulze, Franz. Mies van der Rohe : a critical biography. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1985. Schulze, Franz. Mies van der Rohe: Critical Essays. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1989. Singelenberg, Pieter. H.P. Berlage Idea and Style: The Quest for Modern Architecture. Utrecht: Haentjens Dekker en Gumbert, 1972. Tang, Feng long. "Yun Zhi"De Zhi Xu Yu"Qing Xi De Jian Zao": Mi Si Fan De Luo = Homogeneous Structure and Clear Construction: Mies van der Rohe. Beijing: China Architecture Education Press, 2012. Weber, Paul. Mies Van Der Rohes Visueller ‚Kalkül’ Der Erneuerung. RIHA Journal, 0187, May 30, 2018.AR2A011Architectural History ThesisArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Science