Mies At Home

Mies at Home is a radical rereading of one of the most significant periods in Mies van der Rohe’s career, from the mid- to late 1920s when he was developing his seminal spatial ideas— ideas that would culminate in his celebrated design of the Tugendhat House. The book examines how Mies’s experience of residing in his apartment, doubling as a studio, in central Berlin had an impact on his spatial concepts. It uncovers one of the most profound but virtually untold aspects of Mies’s development: how his visions of an ideal lifestyle came out of his own living experience and how they, in turn, informed his domestic architecture. Mies’s quest featured two breakthroughs. In the Weissenhof apartment building, he conveyed a flexible and manifold lifestyle that many of the avant-garde artists, including himself, were practicing. Later, in the Tugendhat House, he put forward an alternative way of living that centered on contemplation. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Mies at Home offers a fresh investigation of the diverse intentions and strategies the architect used in creating his iconic open spaces. It will be an insightful read for researchers, academics, and students in architectural history and theory.

The Tugendhat House in Brno, the Czech Republic, was planned and built by Mies van der Rohe from 1928 to 1930, and is universally regarded not only as one of his masterpieces, but also as one of the most important buildings of European Modern architecture. This monograph on the Tugendhat House presents previously unpublished photographs belonging to the Tugendhat family, showing the house as it was when it was first inhabited. A representative collection of plans and drawings from Mies van der Rohe's atelier are also presented here for the first time. Carefully reproduced photographs of the original furniture in the family's possession, many of which have never been shown, are also included. Essays by Wolf Tegethoff, Franz Schulze, and Ivo Hammer give a detailed analysis of the significance of the Tugendhat House in the context of Mies's oeuvre.

Photographer Paul Clemence celebrates a revered icon of modern architecture, the Farnsworth House, located near Plano, Illinois, and designed in 1951 by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Striking architetural details are captured in 20 eye-catching B & W postcards. Whether mailing or framing the stunning images, this book is a must-have for devotees of architecture, design, Modernism, the Bauhaus, Mies van der Rohe, and photography.

Built and designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 1928–1930, the Tugendhat House in Brno / Czech Republic is one of the most significant buildings of European modernism. In 2001, UNESCO added the house to the List of World Cultural Heritage Sites. In this third, updated edition, the authors give personal and historic insights relating to the house; also documenting aspects pertaining to art history and conservation-science studies. The comprehensive description and in-depth discussion of the materials used is a special feature in this field of research. The appeal of this monograph lies in the publication of photographs from the family archive which, for the first time, show the house in its lived-in condition. The experimental artistic color photographs by Fritz Tugendhat are among the pioneering achievements of amateur photography.

Greg Castillo presents an illustrated history of the persuasive impact of model homes, appliances, and furniture in Cold War propaganda.

Thematically focused analysis of modern architecture throughout Texas with gorgeous photographs illustrating works by famous and lesser-known architects. In the mid-twentieth century, dramatic social and political change coincided with the ascendance and evolution of architectural modernism in Texas. Between the 1930s and 1980s, a state known for cowboys and cotton fields rapidly urbanized and became a hub of global trade and a heavyweight in national politics. Relentless ambition and a strong sense of place combined to make Texans particularly receptive to modern architecture’s implication of newness, forward-looking attitude, and capacity to reinterpret historical forms in novel ways. As money and people poured in, architects and their clients used modern buildings to define themselves and the state. Illustrated with stunning photographs by architect Ben Koush, Home, Heat, Money, God analyzes buildings in big cities and small towns by world-famous architects, Texas titans, and lesser-known designers. Architectural historian Kathryn O’Rourke describes the forces that influenced architects as they addressed basic needs—such as staying cool in a warming climate and living in up-to-date housing—and responded to a culture driven by potent religiosity, by the countervailing pressures of pluralism and homogenization, and by the myth of Texan exceptionalism.

Would you want to live in a factory-molded cube made of plastic, asbestos, and UFFI? With an "H-bomb shelter" and the nuclear furnace underneath? Or a house designed by God to harmonize with the cosmic Muzak? The Canadian Home explains how our housing came to be including the pagan origins of "colonial" homes, why "Tudor" is not Tudor, and where so many predictions went wrong. But the book is not just about tastes and floor plans; it also celebrates technological innovation, from prehistoric Inuit windows (of stretched seal guts) to the R-2000 house and habitation in space. For the first time, records of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association have been opened to reveal the power plays of bureaucrats, developers, architects, and financiers and how they affect the quality, affordability, and choice of our housing today. Fiery debates over the sublime and the ridiculous (e.g. 1940s architectural articles on whether Toronto should be bombed) are set against the backdrop of Canadian politics and industrial history. Whether the reader’s interest is in construction, politics, or home decor, this book explains why the roof over our heads is the way it is." Pierre Berton "In his fascinating study of Canadian shelter, Marc Denhez takes us on a 20,000-year journey from the days of the cave, the tipi, and the igloo, to the H-bomb shelter and the mobile home. This is, in short, a lively as well as an erudite study of the development of housing . [It] deserves a permanent position on any library shelf." "If you live in a house or own one or build one if you have a roof over your head read this book. A housing book with punch and humour immensely enjoyable." -Charles Lynch author, journalist and former governor of Heritage Canada.

The true story of the intimate relationship that gave birth to the Farnsworth House, a masterpiece of twentieth-century architecture—and disintegrated into a bitter feud over love, money, gender, and the very nature of art. “An intimate portrait . . . alive with architectural intrigue.”—Architect Magazine In 1945, Edith Farnsworth asked the German architect Mies van der Rohe, already renowned for his avant-garde buildings, to design a weekend home for her outside of Chicago. Edith was a woman ahead of her time—unmarried, she was a distinguished medical researcher, as well as an accomplished violinist, translator, and poet. The two quickly began spending weekends together, talking philosophy, Catholic mysticism, and, of course, architecture over wine-soaked picnic lunches. Their personal and professional collaboration would produce the Farnsworth House, one of the most important works of architecture of all time, a blindingly original structure made up almost entirely of glass and steel. But the minimalist marvel, built in 1951, was plagued by cost overruns and a sudden chilling of the two friends’ mutual affection. Though the building became world famous, Edith found it impossible to live in, because of its constant leaks, flooding, and complete lack of privacy. Alienated and aggrieved, she lent her name to a public campaign against Mies, cheered on by Frank Lloyd Wright. Mies, in turn, sued her for unpaid monies. The ensuing lengthy trial heard evidence of purported incompetence by an acclaimed architect, and allegations of psychological cruelty and emotional trauma. A commercial dispute litigated in a rural Illinois courthouse became a trial of modernist art and architecture itself. Interweaving personal drama and cultural history, Alex Beam presents a stylish, enthralling narrative tapestry, illuminating the fascinating history behind one of the twentieth century’s most beautiful and significant architectural projects.