Li Hoi Ching talks on Mies van der Rohe: Lake Shore Drive Apartment Houses, Chicago, (1950-52)

Mies van der Rohe, Lake Shore Drive Apartment Houses, 1952

• Basic Details:
  Artist: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
  Title: Lake Shore Drive Apartment Houses
  Year: 1952
  Medium: Architecture
  Dimensions:  26 floors, 254 ft (82 m)
  
  
  Description:
  Lake Shore Drive Apartment Houses are twin pair of glass-and-steel apartment towers. The materials are common: steel, aluminum, glass. Mie made the towers as if they are floating above the ground. At the entrance, a horizontal roof connects the two high-rise apartments towers. the towers was organized in a 21 foot grid that was represented with steel columns placed at the intersections of the grid. By using it for structure, Mies simplified the steel frame to simply express the grid.
  He covered concrete shells with steel plates, thus keeping the uniformity of the steel columns.
  The structure has a system of filling and framework that created a beautiful pattern of contrasting black steel against the glass surface.
  
  
  What Style it fits into:
  
  
  Modern Architecture
  First of all, it is a modern architecture/architectural modernism that’s of the style of Bauhaus or international style. Generally, Bauhaus style means the style that’s originated from Bauhaus school during 1919 to 1933, and played a great part in modern architecture. . And this time, the lake shore drive apartments here fit into the style that came from Bauhaus school and international style as a modern architecture. The principles of Bauhaus are the emphasis on modern materials, simplicity, clarity, and the designs of Rectilinear block-like building. The apartments we can see here consisted mainly of the materials of concrete, glass and steel, which we can know that it is the focus on the modern materials that emerged during the time of industrial revolution which prompted the existence of the modern architectural movement. Also, it appears to be simple enough as it doesn’t have any particular ornaments, decorative architectural materials with it, far indicating the idea of minimalism, “less is more” motto from Mies. We can see here, Mies also designed it particularly that we could see the steel frame against the windows and also the I-beam steel section, which reflects the elements that made up the apartments and also reflects clearly the whole structure of the apartments. Nothing fancy about it.
  The apartments demonstrate simplicity, clarity and the strict use of modern material. It also appears obviously as an architecture with rectilinear block like design, the flat roof and rectilinear lines that construct up the whole buildings. As a architecture of international style, aside from the above mentioned features which also belong to the categories of international style, like the use of steel, glass, and the radically simplistic form, the apartments also serve to demonstrate the idea that the architectural work should represent no particular national, cultural identities, which hoped to transcend all particular style, as an architectural style that could satisfy all human beings. And a form as simple as it presents here, it is as simple to the point that it stripped off the possibilities that you could see any national, cultural traces with it, just a building for people to live. It also adopted the feature of transparency,. As the whole building shows just “skin and the bone”, if it’s not the steel frame, concrete, then it’s just the glass, it attempted to be as transparent as possible.
  International style also emphasized on the honest expression of the structure, Mies put non functional mullions as a way to express the inner element, structural materials, therefore as a way to give truth to structure or materials.
  Mies also added the reason to add the I-beam steel section was to stiffen the steelplates that cover the corner columns, so the plate would not ripple. (Mies van der Rohe's New Buildings, Architectural Forum 97 (November 1952): 99) it demonstrates the idea of functionalism as an art or form follows function. If it weren’t for it to function or be useful in a certain way, Mies wouldn’t add unnecessary materials.
  The other things about the style of Bauhaus are the influences from De Stijl and cubism. De stijl, another international style that came from Netherland has the features of the flat roof, appearance of weightlessness, universal style that could satisfy basic human needs through mass production, also these characteristics could be seen through here. The precise angularity and the simple cubic extruded rectangle form and the 90 degrees angles of the façade could also be seen as the influence from the cubism.
  
  
  Why interest me
  First, this work interests me with its simplistic style which feels almost weightless to me but at the same time has such a great capacity. Like a building that’s actually flowing. I’m intrigued by this aspect and its aesthetic that shows through its weightlessness.  
  
  
  Key Quote
  By making the construction of the buildings the design priority, Mies created a system that led his perfect grid from structure, to windows, and finally interior partitions. “From outside to inside, from permanent to temporary, the architecture evolved in the sequence of construction.” The perfect order found in the modern 860-880 Lake Shore Drive led the buildings to become landmarks in Chicago
  Adelyn Perez
  
  
  Question
  Most of the Hong Kong people these days live in tall buildings and apartments; do you think these apartments I talked about today consist of different qualities that make them the ideal apartments or houses for you to reside at, especially in a city like Hong Kong?