Mies Van Der Rohe’s career was one of great success, producing many projects that would garner fame throughout his lifetime and ours; however, none of those projects were quite as significant as the “Pabellon Aleman”, which would later become known as the most important architectural project of the 20th century. Despite this, Mies Van Der Rohe’s original purpose was not to create a work of art, but rather to create a space that was comfortable to be in, a space of tranquility. What made this architectural work so emblematic, however, was the way in which the architect used a wide variety of materials and design philosophies to create such a tranquil place. These two things together are what made this pavilion into such a well-known and respected architectural masterpiece.
Mies Van Der Rohe’s main purpose in creating this pavilion was to create a comfortable and fluid space; to do so, he decided to use the walls as a means to separate spaces, rather than enclose them and cut them off from the world around them. This was a particularly popular tactic of his, as seen in one of his earlier works, the “Café Samt und Seide” (in English: Silk and Velvet Café). In this, he used large silk and velvet curtains instead of walls to transform one large space into a series of small spaces that flow into each other. In the “Pabellon Aleman”, he utilizes a similar strategy, opting instead to use solid walls and art murals, like the large central piece made out of golden onyx (which also makes up one-third of the subtle German flag he integrated into the space, the other parts being the black carpet and red curtains which define the central space of the house). A similar tactic can also be seen in another one of his works which sadly never made it past the planning stage, the “Brick Country House”, in which he used large brick walls which begin inside of the house and extend far into the outer land of the house, defining the space while also creating a sense of direction and flow within the space occupied by the house.
The materials used in the house also had a large impact on the effectiveness of converting the house into a tranquil and peaceful place for weary travelers (as Mies Van Der Rohe claimed was the purpose of the exhibition). One of the more obvious uses of different materials to define a space is one that I touched on in the previous paragraph: the subtly integrated German Flag. The golden onyx was by far the most expensive material used in the house, and yet it serves such a unique purpose. Alone, it looks so out of place, but when viewed together with the black carpet and long red drapes, it creates a sophisticated representation of a German flag. It is this kind of masterful use of materials that turns this pavilion into so much more than a simple house; it turns it into a true exhibition, a cosmopolitan work of art.
This exhibition was a masterpiece of modern architecture far ahead of its time. Mies Van Der Rohe managed to redefine and reshape the progress of architecture with a single project, and a perfected execution of the architectural theory of fluid spaces. Using both walls that seem to free you rather than enclose you, and different materials to define spaces without intruding on the aesthetic of a space, he managed to create something that is celebrated even to this day and has truly earned the title of the most important architectural project of the 20th century.
Comments