Ludwig Mies van der Rohes New National Gallery, Berlin

Ludwig Mies cutting edge der Rohes new National Gallery, BerlinThe closest Ludwig Mies crude wave der Rohe got to realising his vision of the column- spare marquee? Was this final expression of his images of canonical logical implication for 20th ace C architecture?The crude National Gallery in Berlin was Ludwig Mies cara wagon train der Rohes closing-place design. throughout his c areer he had been employing the same central ideas he was c at a timerned with to approximately of his designs, gradually developing and refining them. In order to understand his last expression, said to embody successfully all the ideas he was roughly hot nearly, it is weighty to see how these evolved from building to building over the years. Then i can consider this final expression of his ideas as a subject of a lifetimes worth of work and assess it in terms of its significance in Modern Architecture.Since the 1920s, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had been focusing on evolving two types o f forms which could be adapted to a range of situations the ske allowal framed building with little(a) cellular positions ideally designed for office and ap wilement buildings and the item-by-item deal marquise where a giganticr totally flexible space is needed.At a time of rapid and continuous variegate, it made sense for Mies van der Rohe to develop the latter, the immeasurably flexible space. Contrary to the largely known concept by Louis Sullivan that form follows function, Mies believed that buildings should be designed with the least amount of dogged elements so as to be as flexible as viable and ready to adapt as their useable requirements change over time. His designs since 1921 are a demonstration of his quest for flexible space. He was pursuing on the fence(p) and flowing quite an than closed and cellular.The New National Gallery is wide considered the intimately developed expression of such a space. In this project, Mies had the chance to create the infin itely flexible interior but as well as coordinated two more of his to the highest degree important nonions appropriate and transparent social system and fluidity contact by interior and exterior. Miess most central principles synthesized into a single marquise of powerful scale and presence.Miess journey from his prototypical buildings to the embodiment of his most significant ideas in the New National Gallery was anything but a straight line. However, on that breaker point were significant clapperclaws that marked the increase of his idea of the column-free pavilion. These significant stages were outlined by Miess pupil and future associate shaft Carter.The idea of an open and flowing space first materialized in the digest designs of Frank Lloyd Wright where living areas are fairly open and interconnected. Wrights open blueprint designs excited architects all over Europe. However, it was Mies who took the idea of the de-cellurization of the building get on. His se quence of space-liberating designs from almost 1920 onwards changed the way in which architects thought.Miess Brick Country mansion house was his first victimisation of the free-plan interiors that Frank Lloyd Wright had introduced. It was a long way before the creation of the completely patent interior space, but an important move in this direction, as in this project Mies started subdividing the interior by free standing walls quite an than conventional ones. He only let walls to meet as L or T junctions to allow the interior space to flow freely from one room to the other and out into the debarkscape. Although this merely constituted the first step in his pursuit of open flowing space, Mies van der Rohe had already taken the concept of spatial continuity and fluidity much further than anything proposed by Wright.though he had started removing interior walls, the exterior of the Brick Country House remained solid. The next step towards his open flowing space was abolishing the division amongst interior and exterior space. The opportunity to apply this was the Barcelona pavilion one of the most influential designs of the 20th Century. In this project, Mies transformed practical, conventional walls into abstract planes freely disposed as in a De Stijl composition. In the De Stijl movement, artists simplified visual compositions with the use of primary colours and straight horizontal and vertical lines.In the Barcelona pavilion, walls are not in operation(p) in the conventional way. Instead of musical accompaniment the roof and separating specific rooms, these planes loosely de first-rate space. What is excessively unclear and faint in this project, is the division between the interior and the exterior space, another important step towards his open-flowing space.After substituting load-bearing walls with slender columns, the next step to the Miesian transparent pavilion was to remove columns from the interior completely and placing them on the ex ternal perimeter of the building. This would render possible the interior to be completely unobstructed from any fixed elements and theoretically make it totally flexible. This was first seen in his Concert Hall project in 1942.Lastly, in the Farnsworth House in Plano, Mies van der Rohe would dematerialize completely the outer walls of the pavilion so as to push the concept of transparency sandwiched between two horizontal planes.Mies van der Rohes long series of experimentation had as a result the development of a general architectural form, the column-free Miesian pavilion. The pure glaze-walled version of the column-free Miesian pavilion would contribute the parti for the New National Gallery in Berlin.The commission for a mod art verandah in Berlin was an opportunity for Mies to finally build the single-volume clear-span pavilion in its purest form which he had never been able to build before. He was commissioned to construct a much needed permanent scale for the modern art collection in the Western part of the then divided city.Though half the size and population of West Berlin, the east part included most of the cultural institutions and the historic centre of the city. It was in this context that the Culture Forum was designed. It was going to be a thump of buildings dedicated to culture and the fine arts to replace the institutions that had fallen in the eastern part of the post-war city. The New National Gallery was going to be part of it and would epitomize the integration of West Berlin and West Germany into the democratic capitalistic system of the West.The site for the new gallery was Kemperplatz, an area between Potsdammer Strasse and the Tiergarten that had once been a busy centre of Berlin life before being undo by wartime bombing. Apart from the church of St. Matthews of 1846, nothing was left standing later the war and this unused land that remained would provide the site for the development of Berlins new Culture Forum.The driving idea behind the gallery was the creation of a minimalist, steel and water ice, column-free pavilion which would stand as a noble remembrance in the townscape. In his pursuit for a remembrance-like feel and uncompromising radially symmetrical composition, Mies referred to ancient temples such as the Parthenon. The gallery would later on be aptly named and largely known as the temple of light and glass. at once built, it would create a dramatic contrast to the other buildings of the Kulturforum by Hans Scharoun. Whereas Scharoun was much more expressionist, Mies opted for austere geometrical forms that show the social structure of the building and let it stand out from, but also connect to its contacts. Amid the visual clamor of Berlins Culture Forum there reposes a single island of order and tranquillity, the New National Gallery.Mies whitethorn have wanted continuity and fluidity between the pavilion and its surroundings. Nonetheless, it was never meant to hide in Berlins bus y life, but as previously mentioned, it had to have a monumental form. This prerequisite, along with the inclination of the land encouraged the idea of setting the gallery on a large open terrace.The experience of reaching the entrance further intensifies the gallerys monument-like feel. Wide move guide the visitor who begins to feel slightly separated from the surrounding city. The intuitive feeling intensifies as the visitor walks towards the back and the sloping site starts to fall international on either side. By then, the pavilion sits well above way train, and almost has the tranquillity of the top of a hill and has therefore blend psychologically detached from the all(prenominal)day bustle beneath. This method of detaching a building from its surroundings and raising it as if on a pedestal was very much used by Mies van der Rohe, starting with his first project, the Riehl house. This method also gives the building a sense of calm, a gain ground referring to the ancient temple on the top of a hill.Sitting on the large open terrace, surrounded by sculptural works of arts, is Miess minimalist pavilion. It is the pinnacle of Miess idea of free space. He wipe outd interior columns completely to allow for a large unobstructed space for artists to abut their work without any limitations in terms of space.Mies van der Rohe followed the notion he introduced in Barcelona pavilion and any fixed elements in the interior space of the gallery have no load-bearing function. The Tinos marble-faced columns in the New National Gallery provide for ventilation and roof drain and the gallery is supported by eight slender cruciform columns lay on the outside of the pavilion, two on each side. By completely removing solid walls, Mies wanted to symbolise that space extends beyond the boundaries of the interior. The large spans of glass are set far back from the edge of the roof and so creating the effect of a natation plane. The unique open space created on the sto p number blow out of the water is mainly used for temporary, travelling expos, and is ready to be modified according to changing needs, whilst all the permanent collections are safely hidden in the decline level, away from natural light.The steel and glass podium sits on a colossal subterranean stone pedestal. Though not visible, the lower level is perfectly proportional to the podium above. The lower level, apart from accommodating for the whole of the permanent collection, also includes all of the buildings functional spaces including support and utilitarian rooms.Closed on three sides, the lower floor only opens on the west side, to reveal a quiet out-of-door sculpture garden. The garden is enclosed by grey granite walls which separate it from the surrounding bustling city. The floor, paved in granite slabs is another example of Miess pursuit of a flexible space. The slabs are laid loosely on the gravel, ready to be moved into new arrangements if required. With the outdoor ga rden, Mies created an oasis of calm in a bustling metropolis.Mies van der Rohe firmly believed in appropriate structure. A building, he was convinced, should be a clear and true statement of its times and in the case of the New National Gallery its time was characterised by modern industrialism. For Mies van der Rohe, a buildings structure should be true to the materials and processes of its time, but also poetic and visible through the building, rather than obscured behind decorative features. like many architects after the First World War, he wanted to exercise the advantages of industrialized production methods to his architecture. He was interested in finding a new material which would allow most parts of the building to be manufactured in a factory, to ensure better quality and eliminate on-site labour.One of the most important features of a design that hoped to reach out transparency sandwiched between two horizontal planes, was the roof. Mies van der Rohe designed a monum ental roof which he wanted to have as if floating above the large spans of clear glass. The design was a difficult veer to be negotiated with engineers but also a chance for the architect to form the post-war industrialised production methods in this project.The roof, being massive, was made in sections. Its onerousness is constant and always visible. What varies between sections is the quality of the steel which changes according to the level of pressure sustained by each section. The roof is a fine example of Mies van der Rohes pursuit of true structure. The cap, with no false ceiling added to it, also incorporates a black grid of beams which is used as an exhibit surface when the gallery hosts light exhibitions. The colossal roof, 1200 tonnes of steel, was put together and brocaded in one day.As a whole, the gallerys sharp geometrical structure is a sharp contrast to Scharouns neighbouring Berlin Philharmonic, built only a fewer years before. Whereas Scharoun was much more ex pressionist and concealed his structure with perfect shapes, eliminating any kind of symmetry, Mies van der Rohe opted to show the structure in every possible way.All these structural and compositional elements form Mies van der Rohes pavilion, his last great design and one of the most important buildings of modern architecture. The New National Gallery may succeed magnificently as a work of art in itself but it has been criticised widely as an exhibition space. In his pursuit of the column-free clear-span pavilion Mies may have compromised certain aspects of the gallery and its functionality as an exhibition space.Whilst the lower ground galleries and the sculpture garden play their purposes admirably , the pavilion above disappoints in significant ways. In the hurrying floor, light floods the pavilion from its glass walls on all sides and can be regulated by white curtains on three sides. Theres also a liberation system in the roof with warm diffuse light. However, in exhibiti on spaces, diffused indirect lighting from above is more ideal, modifiable by blinds and electric light only if necessary. The sideways illumination in combination with the lighting from above fails badly. Pictures are inadequately lit and there is a strong glare compromising the visitors comfort in showing the artwork. The curtains partially eliminate the glare but compromise the gallerys visual transparency which is its strongest feature therefore defeating the purpose of the large spans of glass walls. In his shoot for for the translucent pavilion, Mies seems to have compromised the viewers comfort and experience of viewing the exhibited artwork.Moreover, the upper pavilion which Mies was so determined to create as a multifunctional space, is not as successful. Though its large-scale is suitable for exhibiting large objects and the side-lighting lights such objects beautifully, the space is unsuitable for smaller paintings. Smaller paintings are lost in the distinguished scale of the pavilion. It seems that Mies van der Rohes vision of the column-free pavilion fails as an exhibition space. Ironically, the lighting and grand-scale of the upper floor seem to restrict the spaces use to certain types of exhibitions, rather than adding to the infinitely flexible space that Mies van der Rohe envisioned.As a result, this infinitely flexible space turned out to be unfriendly for exhibiting art but Mies was unapologetic. It is such a huge hall that of course it government agency great difficulties for the exhibiting of art. I am fully aware of that. But it has such potential that I simply cannot take those difficulties into account.He considered the gallery a closed form, perfect in itself and would not allow any passing that would alter its perfectly symmetrical form. For example, when it was proposed to extend the flower floor to gain functional space that was very much needed for the gallery, a change that would in actual fact be invisible, Mies van der Rohe refused to ruin the sleepless proportions between the two floors. The lack of substantial functional space, and the unwillingness to do anything about it, further demonstrates that Mies compromised the buildings functionality as an exhibition space in his stew to create the perfectly proportional Miesian pavilion.Though the upper floor may not be perfectly suitable for exhibiting and viewing paintings, it is the gallerys primary architectural expression. The building is the result of many gradual steps in Mies van der Rohes journey towards the column-free pavilion and is considered a shining symbol of modern architecture. hither is a 20th Century icon of timeless serenity and composure, its functional imperfections forgotten as one contemplated its majesty as a monument and symbol.The way it sits on its site, its simple yet careful composition, along with its visible structure and use of materials make it a true Berlin monument which expresses the meat of the industrial time in which it was designed and built. From a must-see tourist lot and symbol of Berlin in post stamps, to a home for 20th Century European art, Mies van der Rohes last project and all the ideas it embodies represents one of the most important buildings of 20th Century architecture. Buildings such as this will refreshen us by awakening all the more mans deep liking for poetic serenity and structural honesty.Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is largely considered as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture. In every building his intentions are univocal and his concepts of truth to structures, materials and harmonious composition are stated clearly. By this point in his career, he had developed the ideas he was most passionate about and incorporated them into the New National Gallery. It is with this project that Mies van der Rohe managed to create the column-free pavilion he had been striving for the most of his career. It stands as a monument in its context and embodies his most im portant principles, thus rendering it as a building of great significance for 20th century architecture.