Abstract
The article explores the relationship between Baukunst and Zeitwille in the practice and pedagogy of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and the significance of the notions of civilization and culture for his philosophy of education and design practice. Focusing on the negation of metropolitan life and mise en scene of architectural space as its starting point, it examines how Georg Simmel’s notion of objectivity could be related to Mies’s understanding of civilization. Its key insight is to recognize that Mie’s practice and pedagogy was directed by the idea that architecture should capture the driving force of civilization. The paper also summarizes the foundational concepts of Mies’s curriculum in Chicago. It aims to highlight the importance of the notions of Zeitwille and impersonality in Mies van der Rohe’s thought and to tease apart the tension between the impersonality and the role of the autonomous individual during the modernist era.
Highlights
The article explores the relationship between Baukunst and Zeitwille in the practice and pedagogy of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and the significance of the notions of civilization and culture for his philosophy of education and design practice
The paper summarizes the foundational concepts of Mies’s curriculum in Chicago. It aims to highlight the importance of the notions of Zeitwille and impersonality in Mies van der Rohe’s thought and to tease apart the tension between the impersonality and the role of the autonomous individual during the modernist era
The article argues that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s agenda in both design and teaching was based on his conviction that his designs could achieve timeless and universal validity, only if he were able to capture the specificity of the Zeitwille
Summary
The article argues that Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s agenda in both design and teaching was based on his conviction that his designs could achieve timeless and universal validity, only if he were able to capture the specificity of the Zeitwille. The ambiguity of Mies van der Rohe’s simultaneous interest in impersonality and the autonomous individual Central for Mies’s work was the phenomenon of inhabitants distancing themselves from the chaos of the city, which is a particular effect of his interiors. Mies van der Rohe’s Zeitwille: preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life.” Mies’s concern about the autonomous individual is related to his modes of representation, in the sense that his visualization strategies provoked a specific perception of his interiors. They are a conclusion, the thingbecome succeeding the thing-becoming, death following life, rigidity following expansion ... petrifying world-city following mother-earth and the spiritual childhood
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