Form as the Object of Experience: Georg Simmel's Influence on Mies van der Rohe

Abstract

Notions of form permeate Mies' work and his statements about teaching architecture. These notions were influenced considerably by the philosophy of culture of the German philosopher/sociologist Georg Simmel for whom form was the crystallization of experience. Simmel articulated a three stage developmental progression from materials through function to a state in which the subject eventually developed the capacity to know form. While every stage has its own existential requirements, at the highest level is the forbearance of exegesis and interpretation of one's own work.Simmel's comments on content and form parallel and illuminate Mies' own statements and help reveal why the IIT architecture curriculum which Mies founded had such a profound influence in its day. This pedagogy is no longer (if it ever was) well understood, but a close examination of Simmel's ideas will show that it is a model for architectural education with continuing merit.This article was first presented as a paper at the ASCA Technology...