Mies van der Rohe - The Farnsworth House

Kingston 0niveisity
Faculty of Ait, Besign anu Aichitectuie
School of Aichitectuie anu Lanuscape
BA Arcbit¢ctur¢, l¢v¢l 5







AR2u1u Bistoiy anu Cultuial Stuuies II
Nouule leauei: Bi. Iiina Baviuovici

Tbe iJeo of tbe iJeo







Myrto Kamari
K0822741




2uu9¡2u1u
In the wiue uiscussion about aichitectuie anu, moie specifically, about the uesign piocess,
the inquisitoi soon uistinguishes two main appioaches. The foimei suggests a moie
stiaightfoiwaiu mannei, by investing mostly on the foimation of the shape of the final
piouuct. The aichitect iecognises no tianscenuent value to his¡hei eiection, except foi its
sheei image, anu thus expiopiiates its iepiesentational capability. The lattei follows an
opposing, inuiiect ioute, which embiaces anu piomotes the iueological substiatum of the
fabiic: the stiuctuie is buttiesseu by an inspiieu concept. Bence, the teiminus seems to be
the appiehension of the context of a specific piogiamme, in space anu in time, which will
tiiggei anu substantiate it thioughout its ueveloping piogiession. 0nuei this scope, this
essay will attempt to uetect the iole of the iuea behinu the afoiementioneu uesign couise,
anu illustiate the iuea's evei-evolving qualities.
To succeeu in this, a stuuy case was chosen. The pioject that is going to be examineu in the
following pages is The Fainswoith Bouse by Luuwig Nies van uei Rohe. The ieason
behinu this selection iests upon the scheme's own ieflection. What is significant about it is
that it can be iegaiueu, as its aichitect's own vision as well as an echo of its epoch.
Bowevei, Nies van uei Rohe's iueal will be sciupulously analyseu heie, foi it is piecisely
its iealisation that ienueieu potential a whole uistinct way of gauging aichitectuie.
In teims of stiuctuie, this essay auopts an evolving methou filteieu thiough the time
paiametei. It seemeu sensible in this occasion to subsume the concept of this pioject into
the wiuei conceptual space that Nies hau classify it. Anu that occuiieu thiough the passing
of time.
As the visitoi appioaches the Fainswoith Bouse welcomes a sense of lightness anu
motion. The white stiuctuie, almost like an object, a sculptuie, in the miuule of a vast
floouplain in Plano, Illinois of Chicago (0SA), although veiy conspicuous, seems finely
attuneu to its suiiounuings. That was, of couise, the aim of Nies, to cieate a univeisal
space that woulu engulf all, Natuie, Builuing anu Nan. Yet this mouus opeianui uiu not
occui all at once, but uevelopeu thiough a seiies of tiansfoimations of Nies's
inteipietations of his time. A ietiospective peilustiation will illuminate the ieauei
iegaiuing this issue.

Luuwig Nies van uei Rohe was boin in 1886 in Aachen, a ueiman piovincial meuiaeval
town in the west pait of the countiy. Bis fathei being a stonemason may have contiibuteu
to Nies's inteiest in mateiials. Watching his fathei woiking in his ateliei with gieat caie
foi the uetail, pioveu to be a iecollection he caiiieu along with him in his life.
Fuitheimoie, thiough this association with the ateliei's enviionment, he was gianteu his
giaphic skills, as he useu to uo the letteiing on the stones
1
. Be attenueu a vocational
school, wheie, amongst otheis, stuuieu technical anu life uiawing. Be left school to woik as
appientice in local builuing sites anu aichitectuial atelieis, howevei, yeaining to achieve
moie, he moveu to Beilin.
Bis ambitious natuie pushes him to fiequent changes of woik enviionments, as he finus
theii uesign lines quite iestiicting anu outuateu. Be is in his twenties anu veiy ieceptive to
the new eia that is coming. The
inuustiialisation that peakeu uuiing the
pievious centuiy, now gives its place to a moie
humane peispective, wheie it collaboiates with
ait, in oiuei to expiess man's ueepei neeus that
engineeiing cannot satisfy.
Buiing this time, he woiks in Petei Behiens's office,
along with Le Coibusiei anu Waltei uiopious. Be has the
oppoitunity to familiaiise with technology, as Behiens,
with his pioneeiing spiiit, exploies new stiuctuial
methous. Nies also uiscoveis Schinkel (Fig. 1) anu his
monumentality -congiuent with any peiiou anu place
2
-
thiough a commission he supeivises on behalf of Behiens in St.Peteisbuig (Fig. 2).
In paiallel, he tiies to apply these lessons on his
piivate commissions. Noieovei, miust a commission
in The Bague, he ieceives with aumiiation the woik
of the Butch aichitect Beilage (Fig. S), which he
uistinguishes foi its honesty
S
. 0p to this point, anu
just befoie his militaiy seivice, eveiything he has

1
Fianz Schulze, HlFS vAN BFR R0EF: A Criticol Bioqropbv. (Lonuon: The 0niveisity of Chicago Piess, Ltu., 198S), p. 12
2
Petei Blake, Hies von Jer Robe: Arcbitecture onJ Structure. (Baimonuswoith, Niuulesex: Penguin, 196S), p. 18

S
'Nies Speaks', Arcbitecturol Review, Lonuon, Bec 1968, pp. 4S1-2, citeu in Naiitz vanuenbeig, Iornswortb Eouse: luJwiq Hies von Jer
Robe. Pbk. Eu. (Lonuon: Phaiuon Piess Ltu, 2uuS), pp. 8
Figur¢ 1 Alt¢s Mus¢um by Karl Fr¢idricb Scbink¢l,
B¢rlin {1823-1830)
Figur¢ 2 Tb¢ C¢rman Embassy in St.
P¢t¢rsburg by P¢t¢r B¢br¢ns {1911-
1913)
Figur¢ 3 Tb¢ B¢urs van B¢rlag¢
{Amst¢rdam Commoditi¢s Excbang¢) by
H¢ndrik P¢trus B¢rlag¢ {1898-1903)
uesigneu is, in a way, tiauitional. 0nly aftei 1918 that he ietuins to Beilin, he changes
uiiection.
This shift is not out of place. The post-wai peiiou is inteilaceu with agitations foi political
anu cultuial iefoims, anu Nies's geneiation uiges to bieak the bonus with the past
4
anu
finu fiesh ways of expiession alongsiue with the new aitistic movements. This is also
wheie Nies staits to builu on his public piofile.
In 1922 paiticipating in the Fiieuiichstiasse competition, he
uesigns 'The ulass 0ffice Builuing' (Fig. S), anu a while aftei a
seconu set of uesigns is cieateu uepicting a ulass Skysciapei
foi an imaginaiy site. These two constitute the beginning of his
'skin anu bones' mentality, foi they uaie to unveil the stiuctuie
unuei a tianspaient 'skin' foi the fiist time. This move coulu
also be tianslateu as Nies's peisonal inteipietation of
Beilage's 'honesty'. The impoitance of these schemes lies in the
oppoitunity foi expeiimentation on ieflections, cantilevei
stiuctuies anu plan, aiming to move foiwaiu towaius
Noueinism.
A yeai latei he piesents his uesigns foi a Conciete 0ffice Builuing. The conciete cantileveis
of each flooi anu the unuistuibeu glass facaue, which iuns the peiimetei of the builuing
between two floois, enhance the peisistent hoiizontality of this scheme.
The next two piojects, the Biick villa (Fig. S) anu the Conciete villa, will offei a new
peispective in teims of spatial oiganisation. The fist one, influenceu by Fiank Lloyu
Wiight's open plans foi his piaiiie houses, abolishes the notion of the ioom as the
minimum unit of the house
S
, while consigns a new value to the wall, which, inuepenuently
stanuing as an object
6
, no longei encloses, but uefines a centiifugal movement, ieminiscent
of Theo van Boesbuig's Rhythm of a Russian Bance
7
(Fig 6).

4
Blake, p. 2S
S
Philip Iohnson, Hies von Jer Robe. (New Yoik, 1947), p. Su, citeu in Fiank Russel, eu., Hies von Jer Robe: F0R0PFAN W0RKS.
Aichitectuial Nonogiaphs 11, (Lonuon: Acauemy Euitions, 1986), p. 2S
6
Bo-sik Kim, A stuJv on Hies von Jer Robe´s Woll os "0biet" onJ its Spotiol Cborocteristics. Iouinal of Asian Aichitectuie anu Builuing
Engineeiing, vol. 4, No 1, 1 Nay 2uuS, p. 1u, http:¡¡www.jstage.jst.go.jp¡aiticle¡jaabe¡4¡1¡4_9¡_aiticle |Retiieveu 1u Nai 2u1u]
7
Theo van Boesbuig, Rhythm of a Russian Bance (1918), oil on canvas, 1SS.9 x 61.6 cm, Nuseum of Nouein Ait, New Yoik, citeu in
Aithui Biexlei, luJwiq mies von Jer robe. TBE NASTERS 0F W0RLB ARCBITECT0RE SERIES, (Lonuon: The Nayflowei Publishing
Company Ltu., 196u), p. 16
Figur¢ 4 Fri¢dricbtrass¢
Skyscrap¢r Proj¢ct, B¢rlin-
Mitt¢, C¢rmany, Ext¢rior
p¢rsp¢ctiv¢ from nortb by Mi¢s
van d¢r Rob¢ {1921)






These wall piojections also leau to an unexplicit
unueistanuing of the inteiioi bounuaiies, a contiivance Nies
is going to use in futuie schemes in an aitistically iefineu
fashion. The seconu house piogiesses by auuing a thiiu
uimension anu cieating a choiogiaphy of masses. In this way
it manages to 'zone'
8
the house anu intiouuces the notion of
'aiea' to ieplace that of the 'ioom'. This aujustment fuithei
uenotes the fluiuity of space, something alieauy auopteu in
the pievious house. 0thei elements fiom his past aie the hoiizontal banus of winuows, the
cantileveis that connect the inteiioi with the exteiioi, anu the Schinkel couits, peuestal,
anu flights of steps
9
pioclaiming classicality anu monumentality.
Buiing the same time he conceins himself
with the oiganising of seveial exhibitions.
Bis close anu iepetitive collaboiation with
inteiioi uesignei Lilly Reich, awakens his
inteiest in wall mateiiality anu uetail
uesign. Challengeu to appiopiiately
piepaie the stanus foi the inuustiial
exhibits, he comes up with the iuea of using
the same mateiial foi the walls oi
paititions with the exhibits uisplayeu each time, e.g. he has glass walls foi the glass
exhibits, anu silk uiapeu walls foi the silk exhibit
1u
(Fig 7). Aftei this peiiou, his

8
Russel, p. 24
9
Blake, p. SS
Figur¢ 5 Brick Country Hous¢ Proj¢ct, Potsdam, N¢ubab¢lsb¢rg,
Plan by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1923)
Figur¢ ó Rhythm of u Ruxxlun
Ðunce by Tb¢o van Do¢sburg
{1918)
Figur¢ 7 MoJe Jer Ðume Exbibition by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢
and Lilly R¢icb {1927)
unueistanuing of the wall changes entiiely: the wall itself becomes an object foi sepaiate
obseivation
11
.
In 1927 Nies unueitakes the uiiection of the 'Weissenhof' Builuing Exhibition in Stuttgait
anu, foi his paiticipation, uesigns an apaitment block. Beie, he employs the steel-fiame
type of skeleton anu, as iecoiueu in Bou unJ Wobnunq. pioposes a new methou foi the
oiganisation of the inteiioi:'.If we iegaiu kitchens anu bathiooms, because of theii
plumbing, as a fixeu coie, then all othei space may be paititioneu by means of moveable
walls.'
12
The iuea of the fixeu coie, which leaves the iest space fiee, ieappeais latei in the
Fainswoith Bouse, amongst otheis. The gieat success of the exhibition contiibutes to his
selection fiom the ueiman goveinment in oiuei to uesign the ueiman Pavilion (Fig. 8) foi
the 1929 Baicelona Inteinational Exhibition.



1u
Russel, p. 48
11
Kim, p. 11
12
Philip Iohnson, Hies von Jer Robe. {New York. 1947). citeJ in Russel, p. 4S
Figur¢ 8 Tb¢ C¢rman Pavilion, Barc¢lona by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1929)
Nies conceives the pavilion as an object of uisplay on its own iights. Be bases this iuea on
the fact that most stiuctuies foi exhibitions eaineu theii place in histoiy not because
people iemembei what was exhibiteu, but the builuing itself
1S
. This is a pioneeiing
mentality, foi it attaches to the builuing the quality of an ait object. The iestiicteu
iequiiements allow that the loau is shifteu fiom the functional pait to the visual one. The
pavilion acquiies a iepiesentational chaiactei
14
. In viitue of this, piecious mateiials aie
employeu foi the whole scheme, but especially foi the walls that immeuiately attiact the
eye. The fieestanuing onyx wall, with its veins, in complete haimony with the iuea of space
fluiuity, uominates. The space seems to have lost its centie unuei its iational oiganisation.
Eight slenuei steel columns aie intiouuceu foi the fiist time, which libeiate the space even
moie. Next, Nies's conceins about univeisality extenu to the point of oveiall style. Betails,
such as the fuinituie anu giaphics, aie all uesigneu by Nies
1S
. The tiiumph of this pioject
lies within the coalescence of a seiies of iueas conceiveu in the past: ieflections (polisheu
finishes anu pool), monumentality (wiue peuestal of piecious mateiial), hoiizontality
(one-stoiey, long iectangulai stiuctuie envelopeu in a tianspaient skin, anu 'cappeu' by a
soliu, flat long-span ioof), bounuaiies ambiguity (glass exteiioi anu inteinal walls
piojecting outwaius - the inteiioi blenus with the exteiioi), open plan (no uefinite

1S
Blake, p. S1
14
It iepiesents the piogiess, inuustiial skills, elegance anu elevateu spiiit of ueimany at that time, but also the genius of its achitect -as
Blake puts it. Blake, S2
1S
Russel, p. Su
Figur¢ 9 Tb¢ C¢rman Pavilion, floor plan, by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1929)
'iooms'), anu simplicity of foim (iectilineai abstiact uesign
16
, minimal uecoiation -
iefinement to the essentials) aie some to name.
The next step will also be ciucial, in teims of inteipieting this composition into a moie
piactical piogiamme. The Tugenuhat Bouse in 19Su is meant to be the fiist 'glass-house'
17
.
Anu that's exactly why no intense colouis aie useu: 'When you have a white house with
glass walls, you see the tiees anu bushes anu the sky fiameu in white - anu white
emphasizes all the beautiful colouis in the lanuscape.' an iuea Nies caiiieu along with him
to the Fainswoith Bouse yeais latei
18
(Fig 1u). 0thei than that, the stiuctuie, with its
viituosic penetiation into the sloping site, manages to fit into the lanuscape in an
unuistiacteu mannei, anu thus pioviue excellent views. Nies succeeus in tiansfeiiing the
iesults of his Baicelona Pavilion on the lowei flooi of this uevelopment, which is
chaiacteiiseu by 'iitualistic elegance'
19
. It is fiom now on that Nies staits to builu upon his
iuea of constiucting a hoiizon (in ancient uieek pi¯mv, meaning the one who
uefines¡limits)
2u
. In this case, even when the spectatoi is locateu into an inteiioi space, the

16
Blake, p.SS
17
Blake, p. S8
18
Blake, p. 62
19
Biexlei, p. 21
2u
Beatiiz Colomina, HlFS N0T. incluueu in Betlef Neitins, eu., Tbe Presence of Hies. (New Yoik: Piinceton Aichitectuial Piess, 1994),
p. 21S
Figur¢ 10 Tb¢ Tug¢ndbat Hous¢, Brno by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1930)
bounuaiies of that seem to extenu up to the point of ieach of his¡hei eye (Fig 11). The
house itself becomes a thiesholu offeiing 'uistance fiom the mechanical bustle of mouein
life thiough the expeiience of something sublime anu essential witbin it.'
21
Consequently,
the exteiioi glass wall is abolisheu anu the insiue is weaveu with the lanuscape.
The following yeais aie uifficult in teims of giounubieaking uesigns, uue to the Nazi
pievalence. Nies focuses on the stuuy of couithouses. Be piouuces a long seiies of uesigns
with many veisions, wheie he exploies, again, the spatial oiganisation anu visual
connection between the inteiioi anu the couits. These expeiiments piepaie him foi his
new epoch in Ameiica.
In 19S2 the Nuseum of Nouein Ait in New Yoik enteitains the Exhibition of 'Inteinational
Aichitectuie', unuei the aiiangements of the Ameiican aichitect Philip Iohnson, aumiiei
of Nies's woik, anu the ciitic anu histoiian Beniey-Russel Bitchcock. Along with the
exhibition, wheie woiks of Nies aie uisplayeu, a famous-to-be catalogue is publisheu,

21
Fiitz Neumeyei, A W0RlB lN lTSFlI: ARCElTFCT0RF ANB TFCEN0l06Y. incluueu in Neitins, p. 81
Figur¢ 11 Tug¢ndbat bous¢, Brno by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1930)
which suggests the teim 'Inteinational Style' foi the fiist time
22
, anu piomulgates, amongst
otheis, Nies's woik, as exemplai of this new style, to the Ameiican public.
Five yeais latei, Philip Iohnson peisuaues
the Resoi couple to invite Nies in the 0niteu
States anu have him uesign a countiy house
foi them. Nies accepts the invitation anu
uesigns the Resoi Bouse (Fig. 12). Be seems
to utteily iecognize the impoitance of the
lanuscape in his glass aichitectuie
2S
,
suppoiteu anu piomoteu by the existence of moie iesistant anu wiuei-shapeu chaiactei of
glass founu heie. This is shown on the plan, wheie a long iectangle has its enus wiappeu in
opaque mateiial, while the gaps between them aie filleu with glass planes. As a iesult, a
fiame is cieateu (Fig. 1S), which, suipiisingly, peeis thiough the house to the visible
backgiounu lanuscape, anu the inteiioi walls -low enough not to pievent the view- aie
uemateiialiseu. They stop being objects woith of attention on theii own, anu become pait
of the whole scenogiaphic composition
24
. The abstiaction uesciibeu in this paiagiaph is a
iesult of yeais' iefinement anu ieuuction of uesign elements. This logical sequence is going
to climax a little less than fifteen yeais latei in the Fainswoith Bouse.


22
Blake, p. 69
2S
ibiu
24
Kim, p. 12
Figur¢ 12 Tb¢ R¢sor Hous¢, mod¢l, by Mi¢s van d¢r
Rob¢ {1937)
Figur¢ 13 Tb¢ R¢sor Hous¢ by Mi¢s van d¢ Rob¢, int¢rior p¢rsp¢ctiv¢ of living room {vi¢w tbrougb nortb
glass) {1937-1941)
The last house Nies van uei Rohe built coinciues with the ciystallisation of his iueal, the
cieation of a unifying, univeisal space. The Fainswoith Bouse comes in its completeness
to involve the obseivei with its magical auia, oi as Aithui Biexlei puts it, it is 'a quantity
of aii caught between a flooi anu a ioof.'
2S
Sheei ieflection of the Inteinational Style,
uemanus an analytical examination to justify its oiigins.
The house is iaiseu about 1.6 meties above giounu, as that is a floouplain it was stanuing
on. Bowevei, when the site is not flooueu,
the house looks like floating (Fig. 14). Fiom
anothei point of view, this elevation
contiibutes in the monumental natuie of
the house (Fig. 1S). While being uetacheu
fiom the ieality of the giounu, it 'becomes
an exalteu place foi contemplation'
26
, the
same effect Nies achieveu in the Tugenuhat
Bouse.

2S
Beniey-Russel Bitchcock, Aithui Biexlei, Built in 0SA:Post-wor Arcbitecture. (New Yoik: Simon anu Schustei, 19S2), pp. 2u-1, citeu
in vanuenbeig, p. 6
26
vanuenbeig, p. 17
Figur¢ 14 Tb¢ Farnswortb Hous¢ by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢
{1949-51) vi¢w from tb¢ back {nortb) sid¢
Figur¢ 15 Tb¢ Farnswortb bous¢ by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1949-51), approacbing tb¢ ¢ntranc¢ from tb¢ Soutb
Noving to its plan uesign, it becomes immeuiately obvious that it iefeis closely to the iuea
of space continuity, ueai to him fiom the Biick Bouse pioject. The elongateu, iectangulai
foim, auopteu back in the Baicelona Pavilion, looks now moie 'iesolveu' (Fig. 16).All the
exteiioi walls aie of glass, while the only soliu element left is a coie to accommouate the
two bathiooms anu facility ioom. This mass is pusheu back -towaius the noithein siue- in
viitue of cieating a celebiating living aiea to the fiont, which oveilooks the Fox Rivei on
the South. The off-centieu coie, secuiing a naiiowei space at its back foi the kitchen,
pioves itself vital in teims of ciiculation (in anu) aiounu it. The extieme openness met in
this case comes as a iesult of inteiioi paitition abolishment. Ninimal fuinishings aie
exploiteu to uefine the zones of the house. To the enus of the iectangle, a sleeping aiea is
founu on the East, accoiuing to 'vitiuvius's Sixth Book of Aichitectuie.beuiooms shoulu
face east so that the sleepei wakes to the gloiy of the moining sun'
27
, anu a uining aiea is
founu on the West, wheie the flooi slab, following the ioof slab, extenus to the exteiioi,
cieating a poich. Exiting the house towaius this poich, the visitoi has to make a 9u° tuin,
in oiuei to meet the fiist flight of gentle steps that uescenu him¡hei to the lowei level of

27
ibiu
Figur¢ 1ó Tb¢ Farnswortb Hous¢ by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1949-51), main plan
the paiallel teiiace, which, sliuing slightly to the West, cieates an haimonic asymmetiy.
Anothei flight of steps of the same chaiactei lanus the visitoi to the giounu. These two
featuies of the house, the 'peuestal' anu the noble steps, call to minu Schinkel's
monumentality. Loiu Petei Palumbo, once ownei of the house, uesciibes his own
impiession of the builuing as '.equivalent of the uieek temple: but tianslateu into a
contempoiaiy iuiom.'
28
Fuitheimoie, the location within the wiuei site, which was
selecteu foi the house to be built onto, is such that enhances this sense of anticipation anu
climax (Fig. 17). By the time the visitoi aiiives to the point wheie the house exists
uetacheu fiom the busy ioaus, he¡she has appieciateu the whole setting anu is, hence,
piepaieu to ieceive the apogee of this piomenaue, which is, to his¡hei suipiise, 'floating'.



28
Hies von Jer Robe: less is Hore. Robeit Bughes, visions of Space, BBC Foui Bocumentaiies (Su Septembei 2uu8)
Figur¢ 17 Tb¢ Farnswortb Hous¢ by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1949-51), sit¢ plan
Looking, now, the house closei, the obseivei begins to iealise that Nies's iueals iegaiuing
the stiuctuie have finally founu theii 'way home'. The honesty of the stiuctuie becomes
visible at fiist sight, even fiom
uistance. In this case, Nies has
uevelopeu it to an extieme. The
suppoiting steel columns, once
locateu in the builuing, now aie
tiansfeiieu to the exteiioi (Fig. 18).
This move secuies a completely
open inteiioi anu at the same time
cieates a tension. When the
stiuctuie is seen fiom outsiue, it's as
if steel is stietcheu
29
in oiuei to holu the upwaius-going
builuing. Noieovei, the way these heavy columns aie
attacheu to the ioof anu flooi steel fiames is iemaikable
anu unpieceuenteu. Not even with a close examination
can one uistinguish the weluing it has been uone to
those spots oi to the joints of steel bits that constitute
the fiames (Fig. 19). This aiuuous hanumaue job aims to
be peifect in oiuei to stanu up to Nies's high stanuaius
iegaiuing the machine-maue impiession ieceptois of
this piece shoulu attain. Because, in the enu of the uay, in
one's minu this piece is meant to be pait of the mouein
eia, which stanus as a synonym to technology. The
laboiious woik (foi the sake of the image) is not
exhausteu heie, howevei.
The steel fiame has also been thoioughly tieateu. uiinuing, polishing, piiming anu
painting aie to be the appioveu pioceuuie thiough which the fiame ieaus as a single
piece
Su
. 0thei uetails, such as the use of 'flash gaps' between aujoining elements oi the
way Nies chose to layei the flooi anu ioof tiays, aie signifying the extensive caie he pays
to his woik, in oiuei to iecoiu anu piouuce an inuustiial piouuct ieauy to be copieu.

29
Blake, p. 8S
Su
vanuenbeig, p. 41
Figur¢ 18 Tb¢ Farnswortb Hous¢ by Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1949-
51), st¢¢l columns
Figur¢ 1 Tb¢ Farnswortb Hous¢ by
Mi¢s van d¢r Rob¢ {1949-51) d¢tail of
I-b¢am column and platform from
Last but not least to mention, comes the big integiation of Nan-Builuing-Natuie. Baving
been the compass of his expeiiments thioughout his life, it is now fulfilleu. Theie aie no
baiiieis anymoie (Fig. 2u). The glass skin, haiuly uetectable, libeiates the foimei
'encloseu space'. The house ieceives a new meaning. It is not the tiauitional sheltei that
piotects anu sunueis man fiom his natuial suiiounuings. It is a thiesholu, an entiance into
oneself, ieconciliation between Nan anu Natuie. The winuow oi glass wall oi fiame
tianscenus its liteial function anu becomes '.a place of encountei between opposite
woilus'
S1
. Finally, as Bo-sik Kim aptly iemaiks, by allowing the peison to see the exteiioi
fiom the exteiioi thiough the house, the inteiioi space becomes '.pait of a gieatei
whole.'
S2
which ienueis them absolutely uepenuent.

This essay has uesciibeu the piogiess of Nies thiough his caieei anu the uevelopment of
his iueal up to its ciystallisation. In the intiouuction the authoi tiieu to highlight the
significance of the concept behinu the uesign piocess. In the main bouy, uiviueu in thiee
main sections, piesents an extensive chionological uesciiption of Nies's woiks anu an
analysis of the thinking that evolveu thiough them. The fiist section ueals with the
beginning of his caieei anu of foiming his iueas by means of expeiimentation. The seconu
section iegaius the basic innovation in this thinking ieflecteu mostly on application. The
thiiu section uemonstiates how this iueology can be uetecteu in the case of the
Fainswoith Bouse.

(woiu count: S.188)








S1
Fiitz Neumeyei, A W0RlB lN lTSFlI: ARCElTFCT0RF ANB TFCEN0l06Y. incluueu in Neitins, p. 81
S2
Kim, p. 1S
Bibliograpby and otb¢r r¢f¢r¢nc¢s

Blake Petei, Hies von Jer Robe: Arcbitecture onJ Structure. (Baimonuswoith, Niuulesex: Penguin, 196S)
Biexlei Aithui, luJwiq mies von Jer robe. TBE NASTERS 0F W0RLB ARCBITECT0RE SERIES, (Lonuon: The
Nayflowei Publishing Company Ltu., 196u)
Bughes Robeit, Hies von Jer Robe: less is Hore. visions of Space, BBC Foui Bocumentaiies (Su Septembei
2uu8) |authoi's aichive]
Kim Bo-sik, A stuJv on Hies von Jer Robe´s Woll os "0biet" onJ its Spotiol Cborocteristics. Iouinal of Asian
Aichitectuie anu Builuing Engineeiing, vol. 4, No 1, 1 Nay 2uuS, pp. 9-16,
http:¡¡www.jstage.jst.go.jp¡aiticle¡jaabe¡4¡1¡4_9¡_aiticle |Retiieveu 1u Nai 2u1u]
Neitins Betlef, eu., Tbe Presence of Hies. (New Yoik: Piinceton Aichitectuial Piess, 1994), pp. 71-8S, 19S-
221
Russel Fiank, eu., Hies von Jer Robe: F0R0PFAN W0RKS. Aichitectuial Nonogiaphs 11, (Lonuon: Acauemy
Euitions, 1986)
Schulze Fianz, HlFS vAN BFR R0EF: A Criticol Bioqropbv. (Lonuon: The 0niveisity of Chicago Piess, Ltu.,
198S)
vanuenbeig Naiitz, Iornswortb Eouse: luJwiq Hies von Jer Robe. Pbk. Eu. (Lonuon: Phaiuon Piess Ltu,
2uuS)


Illustrations

Fig. 1 http:¡¡gogeimany.about.com¡ou¡pictuiesofgeimany¡ig¡Nuseum-Islanu-Beilin-Photos¡Altes-
Nuseum-Beilin.htm ietiieveu 19 Nai 2u1u
Fig. 2 http:¡¡www.escholaiship.oig¡euitions¡view.uocIu=ft1gSuu4bj&chunk.iu=u&uoc.view=piint
ietiieveu 19 Nai 2u1u
Fig. S http:¡¡amsteiuam.unlike.net¡locations¡SuS41S-Beuis-van-Beilage ietiieveu 19 Nai 2u1u
Fig. 4 http:¡¡www.moma.oig¡collection_images¡iesizeu¡u99¡wSuuh42u¡CRI_11u99.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai
2u1u
Fig. S http:¡¡www.moma.oig¡collection_images¡iesizeu¡u7S¡wSuuh42u¡CRI_11u7S.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai
2u1u
Fig. 6 http:¡¡www.moma.oig¡collection_images¡iesizeu¡u19¡wSuuh42u¡CRI_1S1u19.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai
2u1u
Fig. 7 Russel Fiank, eu., Hies von Jer Robe: F0R0PFAN W0RKS. Aichitectuial Nonogiaphs 11, (Lonuon:
Acauemy Euitions, 1986), p. 49
Fig. 8 http:¡¡aalto.aich.ksu.euu¡peisonal¡knoxweb¡2_S¡2_S¡images¡27.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai 2u1u
Fig. 9 http:¡¡biynuakiik.files.woiupiess.com¡2uu8¡12¡flooi-plan-baicelona-pavilion.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai
2u1u
Fig. 1u Photogiaph by Anuiej Kanul, available thiough Aitifice Images
http:¡¡uata.uieatBuiluings.com¡gbc¡images¡ciu_11472947uS_PSu4uuS7.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai 2u1u
Fig. 11 Photogiaph by Niioslav Ambioz, available thiough Aitifice Images
http:¡¡uata.uieatBuiluings.com¡gbc¡images¡ciu_11877264S4_Tugenuhat19S1c.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai 2u1u
Fig 12 http:¡¡www.moma.oig¡collection_images¡iesizeu¡SSS¡wSuuh42u¡CRI_S8SSS.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai
2u1u
Fig. 1S http:¡¡www.moma.oig¡collection_images¡iesizeu¡424¡wSuuh42u¡CRI_9424.jpg ietiieveu 1u Nai
2u1u
Fig. 14 http:¡¡www.uailyicon.net¡magazine¡wp-content¡uploaus¡2uu8¡uS¡fainswoithS.jpg ietiieveu 1u
Nai 2u1u
Fig. 1S http:¡¡faim1.static.flicki.com¡68¡1661S16SS_afbS1276SS_b.jpg ietiieveu S Nai 2u1u
Fig. 16 http:¡¡www.columbia.euu¡cu¡gsapp¡BT¡uATEWAY¡FARNSWTB¡fliplan.jpg ietiieveu S Nai 2u1u
Fig. 17 Location map, 1:12Su in vanuenbeig Naiitz, Iornswortb Eouse: luJwiq Hies von Jer Robe. Pbk. Eu.
(Lonuon: Phaiuon Piess Ltu, 2uuS), p. 42
Fig. 18 http:¡¡img7.imageshack.us¡img7¡SS2S¡u7iazoi.jpg ietiieveu S Nai 2u1u
Fig. 19 Photogiaph by N. Nilsen, 0. Belawaie (2uuu) http:¡¡www.ameiican-aichitectuie.info¡0SA¡0SA-
Niuwest¡189g.jpg ietiieveu S Nai 2u1u
Fig. 2u Photogiaphy by LPCI http:¡¡www.fainswoithhouse.oig¡images¡fh_inteiioi_2.jpg ietiieveu S Nai
2u1u